Children of Cain
by Daddy Elric
Summary: [AU] Roy Mustang is a vampire hunter with extraordinary capabilities. With the help of his partner, he slays the damned race before they can get too far. But when a blonde boy sparks his interest, how will he cope with both his own secret and Edward's?
1. Vampires Will Never Hurt You

Okay, yeah, so this plot isn't quite so formulated yet, but We'll figure it out! We're doing a lot of research for this thing, so you might notice some parallels, We think. Hell, We might have to buy a /Bible/. -has never touched a Bible in her life except for the few times she's gone to church- xD -so uneducated- We'll just wiki it all. xD

Yeah, so lyke, this is like modern. No alchemy involved, either, unless We decide that's a good idea which We don't think We will. We've like... _always _got alchemy. xD So nuh, not this time. We may or may not be stealing ideas from the _Devil May Cry_ novel, so if you notice anything that seems to be similar to it, you can assume it's either an original idea or We got it from that.

And just so We don't get any corrections, if you see something that's not correct, We've probably done it on purpose. We know the series quite well, thank you, and this is AU anyway, anything can happen. And yes, We spell it 'Aru', not 'Al'. Not that he'll show up much but We figured We should clear that up. But other than that, We think it'd be awesome if in the case We had typos, you guys would pick up on them and tell Us. :3

**Pairing: **RoyEd, bits of HyuRoi, some others

**Disclaimer: **Don't own it! Rose, of course, belongs to Rose. FMA belongs to Arakawa, blahblahblah. Dividers are _Vampires Will Never Hurt You _by My Chemical Romance. DMC ideas are from DMC, as you know.

* * *

_prologue_

He levels his pistol.

The prey darts forward.

He pulls the trigger.

His target, undeterred by the silver bullet that has penetrated its stomach, plows into him.

Caught off guard, the hunter falls.

The vampire bites down, lapping at the stream of red that flows out immediately.

His world grows dark.

* * *

**CHILDREN OF CAIN**_  
_

* * *

_two years later_

_He's struggling through the blackness, trying to regain a sense of balance. Even as he knows it's futile, he keeps trying, trying perhaps to find a hold of white in a world of black._

_He can't do it._

_He sinks -- or maybe sink is not the right word -- there it is. Plummets. He's plummeting through the dark, and there's no holds, nothing to grab onto._

_And then... him. Eyes as yellow as gold narrow into a smirk, and a fang gleams, and he wants to curse this person for laughing at him. How dare he be pleased over this?_

_But then a length of yellow braid flicks across his field of vision, and a hand extends into his view. He grasps it hastily, frantically, but gratefully all the same. There -- a hold. And then --_

"Uncle!"

His eyes snapped open, and Roy Mustang sat up to find his niece looking at him worriedly. Roy ran a hand through tousled black locks, as if they could possibly be tamed by such a gesture. "Then again, they looked the same as ever -- handsomely messy, that controlled-yet-wild bedhead look the women loved. "Yes, Rose?" he asked, rubbing a fist past chips of what seemed to be obsidian, but in truth were darkest sapphire.

Rose crawled onto the bed, linking her arms around his neck. "You were convulsing," she informed his shoulder. "I thought you were having a seizure in your sleep, or something -- I didn't know what to do, so I woke you up."

Roy sighed, stroking the long red locks that were really all he could see of his niece at the moment. "I... apologize, Rose." He'd always had some trouble apologizing. "But I appreciate it. Don't worry, either. It was only a dream I was having, all right?"

She nodded, but when she looked up at him her eyes were still troubled. However, she put on a smile, and he was taken aback at how much of his own technique she'd picked up -- the way of masking one's emotions so that only the skilled could detect them. He, of course, was the skilled. "Get up soon, okay -- Oh! The eggs! They'll burn!" She squeaked, purple-with-orange-polka-dots pajamas blurring as she darted out the door.

The man chuckled, sliding out of bed. Bare feet padded across the blue plush carpet as he moved to the dresser and pulled out some slacks and a pair of socks, beginning to get changed for 'work'. Or, that was, work as the public saw it. His post as a New York City cab driver, he liked to think, was just a hobby, because his real work was in the underground and didn't have anything to do with what he did in the day. In truth, Roy Mustang was a bounty hunter, and his bounties were no ordinary crooks. Vampires. The offspring of Cain, rejected brother of Abel.

He was a skilled hunter. Of course, every great figure had someone working behind the scenes, and Roy was no different. His backup was his partner, Maes Hughes, who collected information on locations and profiles of bounties. Roy, on the other hand, collected the bodies. Neither man minded their post. Hughes was more accustomed to pushing paper, being a journalist, and Roy had liked shooting at targets since childhood. Their positions in their partnership fit. Not to mention that they were, well, friends with benefits.

Mustang dressed quickly, then headed downstairs, picking up the newspaper from its usual spot on the side table in the hall, just beside the kitchen door. Despite Rose's earlier panic, she seemed to have cooked the eggs perfectly as usual, and as was their ritual, he sat, opened his paper, and she placed a plate of bacon, fried eggs, and toast alongside his mug of coffee.

Despite being only in her teens, around sixteen, Rose Mustang was quite the little housekeeper. She was related to him by her late mother, who was his sister. She'd been killed by a werewolf a few years prior, and it was then that Rose had sought out Roy. And in return for his allowing her to board at his home, and his spending quite a lot of money for her to do so, she kept the house, morning till the time she went to the private highschool nearby, and then when she came back till she went to bed.

Rose was used to Roy not coming home until early in the morning. She knew what his job was, and would keep her mouth shut at all times. That, of course, didn't mean she didn't worry, far from it. Just because she knew where he was didn't mean she wouldn't be anxious, and lots of crossword books had been filled in feverishly until Roy got home, since Rose was often unable to sleep when he was out like that.

Roy finished his coffee, put the newspaper down, and stood, stifling a yawn that seemed to have caught up with him late. "All right, then, Rose, I'm off. I've got to head over to the old lady's place." Rose giggled. If the 'old lady' heard Roy say that, she was positive there'd be quite a few holes in his forehead.

"All right," she replied, beginning to do the dishes and nodding. "Will you be coming back soon?"

Roy shook his head, pulling on his shoes. He had a cab shift pretty soon after his errands. "No, I've got to drive. I'll see you tonight, though -- no jobs today." He lifted a hand in farewell, hands in the pockets of his black slacks casually.

* * *

_/And now the nightclub sets the stage for this -- "They come in pairs," she said/_

* * *

Roy left the apartment building, stepping to the old blue '60s style Corvair that was seated contentedly in his usual parking place. No one bothered to take his space, because the building's residents, aside from he and Rose, were mostly older and concrete in their habits and ways. 

He seated himself in the leathery interior, pulling the door shut with a muffled slam. This was a nice car, and it looked quite good alongside Maes' Mustang (also from the '60s -- both had been restored a few years ago), which was something Hughes liked to tease him about. Always saying that Roy should be the one to own the Mustang, but Roy loved his old Corvair, even if it took a lot of work to get it up and running. He turned the key, listening to the car start in its usual way before he pulled out of the parking lot.

Traffic wasn't too bad, and Roy made it from the apartment building to the gun shop in a record fifteen minutes. He parked, stepping out of the car and entering the store.

Hawkeye's Arms and Ammunition (at least, that was what it was supposed to be called -- the sign above the shop really said _HAWKEYE'S ARMS AND AMMONITION, EST 1973_) was a small shop on the east side of town, not actually too far from where Roy's apartment was. It was positively tiny, overshadowed by the grand, popular nightclub and pub that stood beside it. (Barrel Soul, Ambrosia's little bar, was the favorite let's-go-have-a-drink-and-reminisce site of the hunter partners.) Hawkeye's was owned by Ms Riza Hawkeye, the daughter of the original owner. She was youngish, in her twenties, the same as Roy, but she was strict, serious, and didn't take well to jokes played on her. She was Roy's personal gunmaker, so far as he knew, because she seemed to refuse other clients. Of course, he paid her quite well, so it didn't matter either way.

It was here Roy entered, wiping his shoes as was custom in Riza's shop. She looked up at him from the work she was doing behind the counter, amber eyes indifferent, before blonde obscured the view of her face again and her head dipped down. "Eh... Hawkeye?" he said warily, knowing full well she'd probably shoot him if caught offguard.

Luckily for Roy, she was in a good mood today, or at least, seemed to be. The blonde woman lifted her head again, putting what she'd been working on down on the counter -- a Colt Python .357 Magnum that she seemed to have been adding a scope to. The scope itself was complex, he could see just from the build -- inside was probably an added feature for heat sensory, or something. Hawkeye was weird like that. "Yes?" she asked simply. "If you're here for that order you placed last week, I'm not finished with it yet."

He snorted, leaning on the counter. "I'm here for ammo today, Hawkeye. I need something to take down, or at least stun, a powerful one. He's got shields around him, or something; most of my bullets are deflected about a foot away from him." Despite superior gunmanship that just about no one could match (being able to pull the trigger just about as fast as if he were using a fully automatic machine pistol), Roy had been having trouble with this one, and this resistance wasn't helping, considering when he went after that mark again, the vampire would probably taunt him with the usual annoying villain chatter. How troublesome.

"Aha, I see," she replied, shaking her head and reaching below the counter. "A couple of magazines of a higher caliber should do the trick. Here." She tossed a little box at him, which he identified as a brick of magazines. ".454 Cassull."

Roy stared at the brick for a moment before blinking back up at Riza. "They don't fit in my gun," he said blankly. How was he supposed to use a bullet like this if they didn't fit?

Hawkeye rolled her eyes, reaching below the counter again and handing him a rather oversized handgun. "Here you are. It's big, but it's nothing you can't handle. I thought you'd come across something like this, so I made it a few months ago."

The man took the pistol, looking it over. It had a very long muzzle, a square-ish triggerguard, and engraved on the side was HELLSING ARM454 _Casull _AUTO. He expected it was semi-automatic, which was a good deal for him, because he was actually quite lazy and didn't believe in more work than necessary. This was a good thing. "Hellsing?" he asked then, looking up from the gun. "Where's that come from?"

"Van Helsing was a famous man, Roy. And his most famous kill was Count Dracula. Cute, isn't it?" she asked, a small smile surfacing, but it was a little bit more smirk-y than he would have liked. "The double L is just an alternate spelling."

"Right. All right, thanks. You can put that on my tab." He was out the door before she could protest that his tab was two months overdue and he was just piling up interest.

* * *

_/We'll shoot back holy water like cheap whiskey, they're always there/_

* * *

Roy parked outside the cab agency a few moments later, stowing the new .454 under the drivers' seat and locking the door. He promptly entered the agency, slicked his bangs back with a bit of water, donned his little cabbie hat and snagged the keys to #36, the car he normally drove. 

A few minutes later found him picking up a kid with a mostly shaved head and liberty spikes, who was off to Manhattan to do who knew what. Roy didn't care, just drove the teen there and took his money. Next was a rather tubby woman in her late forties that was 'lost' and needed to be driven to the nearest subway station. Roy drove her across the street.

And then came...

Leaning against the railing that surrounded the entrance to the underground station was a -- was that a girl? No, it was a boy -- with long blonde hair plaited into a braid that came down to his waist, arms folded across his chest. He was dressed in the usual 'emo kid' outfit: gray sweater , dark T-shirt and jeans, mismatched Converse and hot-pink gloves. Wonderful, just perfect. He spotted the iconic yellow taxi and promptly hailed it down. Roy pulled to an obedient stop and the teen got into the back seat. "Where to?" he asked, as was custom.

"Anywhere," replied the boy, and Roy turned in his seat to meet yellow eyes that were strangely familiar. Where had he seen those...? "Just not here."

"All right," replied the cabbie, dismissing the eyes for the moment and pulling away from the curb. "I'll take you to the Statue. Sound all right?"

The boy didn't answer, just looked out the tinted window. He seemed to only realize then that Roy had spoken, and looked back up, nodding. "Fine with me," was all he said, before he returned to gazing out at the street.

* * *

_/Someone get me to the doctor, and someone call the nurse/_

* * *

Roy dropped the blonde off a little while later, neither saying much. The blonde (whose name was Edward, Roy found out after quite a long, awkward silence) handed him a deal of money that was... quite odd, to say the least, for someone of his age to hold, not to mention it was far too much money for the distance Roy had taken him. He waved a hand at the darkhaired man, indicating he could keep all of it, and Roy sat in his cab and watched the boy leave, melting into the shadows below the Statue of Liberty. 

Odd... he could have sworn he'd seen him before. But where...?

_(eyes as yellow as gold)_

His dream...?

_(a length of gold braid)_

Maybe... He wasn't sure. But now he had the boy's name, and that was good enough for him. "All right, dream-boy," he murmured, eyes fixed on the place he'd seen Edward last. "You've caught my attention. What do you want with me?" He'd find him again, he knew, because when Roy Mustang was interested in something, he wouldn't stop pursuing it. Not even a city of vampires and humans would deter him.

Now if he only knew where to _start..._

* * *

_/And someone buy me roses, and someone burned the church/_

* * *


	2. Twisted Transistor

Big plans for this, chickadees! Rawr! xD We realized that the first chapter didn't have the chapter name in it, and that it still says chapter one, so We'll start putting the chapter names in the chapter. x.x

o-o Hey, did anyone notice you can tell Our music preferences from the chapter dividers? xD We just realized that now. Cools.

**Review Replies: **

**Momma Mustang: **xD Yessir! xD Does he luff it? Why? xDD The names sound cool? Tell Us about it, We wikied them and figured out how strong each was. xD Corvair! Not like he drives it much. xD Yessir! Previews you get!

**LoveChild Rosie: **O-o But there was no spazum involved...

**KobrahEdo: **Yesh! He's luffly, isn't he?

**Bar-Ohki: **Does you? We must be doing something right, then.

**Fullmetal LVR: **xD Calm yourself! It'll be written in time!

**loser in the gutter: **xD pats You'll get more. Here you are. xD

Six reviews! Pretty good for the first chapter, if We do say so Ourself. Love you guys! Here you are!

**Disclaimer: **Don't own it! Rose belongs to Rose, FMA's Arakawa's, um... you know all that stuff. Dividers are _Twisted Transistor_ by Korn. If you've seen the Ford Mustang commercial for the new one, you'll know where We got that idea from. xD

* * *

**CHILDREN OF CAIN**

* * *

_twisted transistor_

* * *

It took a sleepless month for Roy to find the blonde dream-boy again. In that time he had several more dreams, each different, but each featured the boy. There was a dream in which he was bitten by the very thing he hunted and Edward was there, watching in shock, and there was a dream where he wasn't remotely human and he was seated in front of the boy, Edward caressing his furry muzzle with an ... almost guilty look on his face. He didn't plummet through the dark again, at least. He was thankful for that, because even though losing his humanity was bad, that cold, dark world was worse. 

The day that Roy met Edward once more was a day in which he was hanging around with Hughes. Both men were sitting on the hood of Maes' car, but it wasn't the same old Mustang that Hughes was so fond of. "What the hell is this?" asked Roy when he'd shown up earlier.

Hughes had smirked. "This, Roy, or should I say Pony --" Roy had winced then, as if he'd been bludgeoned with something, presumably a two-by-four " -- is the new Ford Mustang. Pony Edition. Like it? Don't try to jump in through the window _Dukes_ style, it's a bad idea -- I tried yesterday. My lower regions scream in pain at the thought." He looked quite sheepish. Roy snorted.

"That's why you _don't_ try to act hardcore with a quarter ton of metal," he'd remarked, patting Hughes on the shoulder.Now they were sitting on the blue hood, decked out in their usual hunting outfits (consisting of shirts, vests, and slacks), trenchcoats and weapons in the front seat of the Mustang. Vampires came out at twilight, or, at least, that was when they'd had the most luck with them. Vampires could be out at any time of day, because, contrary to popular belief, all bloodsuckers could walk in the sunlight. They just preferred to eat under cover of darkness, without being caught in the act and killed. So they had some time to plan their strategy for the new mark.

"So, Hughes," began Roy now, glancing over at his friend. Maes promptly shoved a hand in Roy's face, turned around and stuck his nose in the air. "Okay, fine, _Maes. _How's that?" Hughes turned back around, listening intently. "Who are we taking down tonight?"

"A girl. Goes by the name of Camryn. You think you can handle it?" asked Hughes, grinning. "You might be unaffected by all that hypnosis crap, but that doesn't incorporate looks." Despite being friends with 'benefits', Hughes knew how Roy could get with pretty girls. He just _had_ to tease.

"Course," said Roy irritably. "I don't see why I shouldn't be able to." He pushed himself off the hood of the Mustang then, yawning and stretching. "I'm going to go have a nap. Wake me up in twenty minutes, okay?"

Maes blinked, watching as Roy opened the car door, sat down, and began to arrange the coats in the car so he could sort of nestle in them. "A nap?" he echoed, tilting his head and sliding off the hood as well, seating himself in the drivers' seat of the vehicle. "What for?"

"Haven't been sleeping well," came Roy's voice from the bundle of coats. "I've taken to having catnaps. Twenty minutes here, twenty there, pretty soon you've slept eight hours and it hasn't even slowed you down, right? So I'll have my nap, and you can start getting to the location. Kay? Kay."

The bespectacled man ran a hand through his hair, antenna bouncing back up immediately after his hand passed it. He grinned then, snorting. "Okay, then. We'll go find Miss Cammie."

* * *

_/Hey you, hey you, devil's little sister/_

* * *

The blonde sighed, seating himself in the cafe across from the girl. Winry was tiresome, especially considering she was their Sloth and, well, had to be, but he didn't care. As long as she didn't humiliate him, he supposed. "So what am I here for again?" he asked boredly. He swirled the straw around his frappucino idly, gazing out the window he was seated beside. Damn... outside was always nicer than in. 

"Be_cause,_" replied Winry, taking a sip of her french vanilla hot smoothie as she spoke. "We're to plan." She pushed a stray lock of blonde hair behind her ear and looked at him expectantly with almost innocent-looking blue eyes. He sighed. For someone who was supposed to be Sloth, she sure was impatient...

"What are we planning, then?" he asked, but his attention was focused on the world outside. She began to prattle on, Edward tuning her out expertly. He just wanted to put on one of his illusions and become a bird, or something, and escape from her. Anything would be better than listening to Sloth.

Then something caught the boy's eye, and he realized he wouldn't have to wait long. Most people wouldn't think the car was that big a deal. However, Edward wasn't 'most people', and he knew that there was someone very interesting in that Mustang, and it wasn't the driver. He got up, and Winry stared at him. "Something came up," said Edward simply, jerking his thumb over his shoulder.

"But -- Irwin -- Pride!" He was already out the door, yelling something over his shoulder about how he didn't want to be called by that stupid bloodsucker name.

* * *

_/Listening to your twisted transistor/_

* * *

Roy Mustang sat up, rubbing the last grains of "Sandman droppings", as Hughes called them, out of his eyes. Hughes had just shoved him awake, and Roy had awoken without complaint, gazing out the tinted window idly. There was never anything interesting in the city -- "Stop the car," he barked suddenly, but didn't even wait for Hughes to slow down -- he pulled on his trench, opened the door and barrelled into the street, somersaulting over the hood of a car in the next lane and landing squarely on his feet on the sidewalk. People looked at him like he was rather nuts, but he didn't care -- he'd just seen someone quite interesting. This person looked like he was hurrying in his direction, and so he simply walked over, commanding his legs to listen to him as if they were rather exciteable horses that needed to be calmed down. 

He reached Edward at the same time the boy slowed. There was a blonde hanging out of the door of the little cafe the longhaired boy had obviously just walked out of. However, he didn't care about her -- if Edward had just walked out on her, he didn't like her very much. Of course, good things like the girl staying away didn't last very long, because here she came now. Damn. "Irwin!"

The blonde boy's gaze narrowed, and he folded his arms. "I told you not to call me that, Winry! Dammit... We gotta..." He glanced around, grabbed Roy's wrist, and suddenly darted away, incredibly hastily for a boy of his size and stature. Roy wasn't surprised at the speed itself, but coming from Edward, it was a huge surprise. He wrenched his wrist back as he put two and two together. The boy had introduced himself as Edward in the car, but that girl was referring to him as Irwin. Plus, this speed was impossible for someone unless they were

_(a vampire)_

inhuman, not to mention his hand was... cold. Very cold. "Wait a second," said Roy flatly as Edward stopped to look at him. "What are you?" The question was blunt, but he didn't care much. It needed asking.

The blonde looked sort of guilty, but he shook it off. "I'm... well... I'm pretty sure you've guessed, haven't you?"

He should have known. The boy had an inhuman sort of beauty about him that only a vampire could possess. How had he not seen it? Did he think the boy was just pretty? Not that he wasn't, but... He squashed that thought. Some vampire hunter he was... Roy sighed. Why did he have to meet people like this? "So who is Edward?" he asked then, folding his arms and looking at Irwin with narrowed chips of cold obsidian. "A friend of yours you thought you'd borrow a name from, vampire?"

Irwin acquired a pained expression, and trained his yellow gaze at a small pebble at the alley wall. "No," he said quietly. "It was my human name. I... guess I wanted to stay human. I've kept that name. I suppose I'm just clinging to something lost."

"And 'Pride'?"

"My name in my coven. There's seven of us. I don't remember which of us had the idea to take on the names of sins as pseudonyms, but I ended up Pride. Winry's Sloth. I dunno... it just doesn't feel right, any of it. Just... call me Edward, okay?"

Roy, who had been quite annoyed found his anger ebbing away. He wasn't sure why, but he felt sort of sympathetic for the blonde. Damn... he was getting soft. Maes was so going to laugh at him. Or maybe he didn't have to know. "All right, Edward. So... you didn't embrace it?" Smooth, Roy, he thought, frowning. Of course he hadn't.

Edward shook his head. "No... I've been denying it for three hundred years." But it was inescapable, and Roy had a feeling that Edward was losing hope. "Anyway, um... D'you want to go for a walk? I don't think Winry's still looking for us, so we're safe. I can't smell her anywhere near, at least."

"Sounds fine with me," replied the darkhaired man, nodding and stepping away. "Come on, then."

* * *

_/Hold it between your legs -- turn it up, turn it up/_

* * *

They walked for a while. Edward told Roy about the coven, and Roy confessed to his job, at which Edward snorted and admitted that he'd known right off. No one else would smell so strongly of silver, he said, at which Roy turned away, supressing the strange urge to blush. Maybe it was the fact that he had been discovered so easily, he wasn't sure. 

Half an hour later found them walking back from an intricate maze of sidestreets and alleyways to the main road. Roy still felt stupid for not realizing what Edward was. Vampires had a beauty about them that seemed to be perfect, and therefore they were completely alien. You could tell easily; no human was that beautiful. Nothing truly beautiful was as perfect as one of them. Beauty like that was saved for the evil.

Roy looked up as Maes pulled up beside them. The bearded man hung out of the car window, grinning. "Sorry to interrupt your date, Roy, but we gotta go. We're gonna be late for the other date." He winked at them. Both pedestrians got the message.

The hunter nodded, turning to Edward with a small grin with an almost sheepish tone to it, handing him a little card. All it had on it was a phone number. Okay, so maybe he gave them to his dates more often than vampires, but Edward probably wouldn't mind. "Here. Call if you need anything, all right? Even if it's just to chat." He turned, lifting a hand in farewell as he climbed into the passenger seat of the Pony, and Maes sped off to wherever he'd picked to stake out that girl, or whatever his plan was. Roy had no idea.

Edward watched him go quietly. He looked back at the little card then, looked up, grinning. That didn't sound too bad at all.

* * *

_/Low end is coming through -- can't get enough/_

* * *


	3. Sugar, We're Going Down

o-o Hrm, the theme for this chapter was a little bit hard to pick. xD That's okay, though, We finally got it. :3

**Review Replies:**

**Bar-Ohki: ** Thanks! Here's your update!

**Momma Mustang: **xD Course he's a terrible hunter, he's _Roy. _He gets distracted by pretty things, we all know it. xD Sins! Taisa doesn't has to if he doesn't want to. We might... xD We can't tell you here! Ask on MSN! xD Ah, yes, the space, We didn't even notice it until We read it again _after _the chapter was posted. xD Wiki it! xD Of course more previews for Taisa. He enjoys them so much, how can We say no? xD Here you are, Momma!

**Fullmetal LVR: **xD We're glad to have such exciteable readers! xDD Shhhh! Don't blame it on the sugar, blame it on the fic!

**GreedxEd: **Course he is! He can't help but fall for pretty boys! xD

**LoveChild Rosie: **Course! He's _gotta _be in there. xD

Well, five reviews isn't too bad either! Keep 'em coming! You new readers, too, there's like a million of you and no reviews from you! xP

**Disclaimer: **Don't own it! Theme this time is Sugar, We're Going Down by Fall Out Boy.

* * *

**CHILDREN OF CAIN**

* * *

_sugar, we're going down  
_

* * *

Roy turned in his seat, looking at Hughes with a cold, inquisitorial gaze. Maes smiled grimly. He knew that look -- Roy took it on when he was getting down to business. "All right," began the bigger man, turning a corner. "We're off. I found her at Ambrosia, so we're going back there. She's..." Hughes trailed off for a moment, grinning sheepishly. "A pole dancer. You sure you'll be able to take her down?" He groaned slightly. A smirk had just bloomed on the other man's face. "What're you thinking?" 

"Oh, I'm sure I'll be able to _take her down," _replied Roy, grinning. "If she's as much of a whore as you say."

"But I didn't say the word 'whore'..."

"Inconsequential. She's sexy, I'm sexy."

"She's a vampire."

"..."

"..."

"...Good point."

They sniggered in their seats for a few moments, more out of tension than really finding it funny. Roy always tensed up before a hunt, and Maes usually followed suit. Tonight was no exception. Hughes pulled over in front of the brightly-lit outside of the club that housed their favorite bar. Night was falling, and by the vibrations hitting the car every second or so, the rave was already raging. "Here," said Hughes, tossing Roy another magazine for the .454.

The dark-eyed man blinked, taking the gun. "What's this for? I've got plenty of ammo..." He put it in his pocket anyway, shrugging.

"Can't hurt," replied Hughes, shrugging as well. "Out, now. I'll be back here, as usual." Roy nodded, standing up and shutting the car door. He raised a hand in farewell and then both were gone, Roy darting into the building and Hughes off to wherever he always went when Roy was hunting.

* * *

_/We're going down, down in an earlier round/__  
_

* * *

He entered cautiously. The club was open, and he was lucky Riza had installed a silencer, not that it would matter much for his ears, nor the ears of a vampire. Oh well. Being a regular, Roy had no problem passing the burly couple of bouncers. One of them, as usual, was sparkling with what seemed to be a suppressed urge to hug him, and he dodged the almost-bald man as he actually did leap forward. "Sorry, Armstrong," said Roy, taking a step toward the inner door. "Here on offical business tonight. You understand." 

Armstrong blinked, then nodded. "Yes. I shall cover you."

Roy nodded as well, then advanced, spotting as soon as he entered the woman he was looking for, even through the rapidly blinking strobe lights, the throbbing techno beat of the dance floor, and the sea of ravers. He knew her, because she was the only one on the stripclub style level above the dance floor who had more than five men sitting around the table on which her pole was mounted. There had to be at least twenty, and Roy knew that by the odd sort of shockwaves that were radiating visibly from the girl, she was casting one of hypnotic vampire enchantments over them all. Roy knew that he was the only one who could see them -- he'd asked Maes once, who had looked at him funny and then grinned, saying something about how Roy was always the one who noticed things most others did not. They were a blackish-purple sort of color, and he knew they were attributed to the sin of Lust.

The blackhaired hunter approached with caution, though it wouldn't matter in the long run. "Damned succubus," he mumbled almost affectionately. He'd seen too many of them. "Too bad... your time is over." He slunk behind a couple of fairly tall men then, watching the girl with a bit of disappointment. It was a pity she had to die... she was pretty hot. He squashed that thought, because he made it a point to keep personal desires aside from what made him take the hunt in the first place, out of the business area. Roy leveled the Cassull between the men's shoulders, knowing that if he paused too long, she'd notice him. With this in mind, he fired, pulling the trigger at an inhuman speed. Hawkeye would kill him for trying to match the speed of a machine gun, but he didn't care -- he liked to test the power of a gun. If it didn't crap out on him after this, he would put his trust completely in said gun. There hadn't been a gun he trusted that much yet. If it didn't work, Hawkeye would just have to make him another one.

The gunfire stopped abruptly. Roy had run out of bullets. He pulled the trigger uselessly for a moment, realized what had happened, and sighed, putting the gun back in an inner pocket of his trench. The girl's hypnosis spell had long since been broken, and with it, the mens' attention on her. They looked around the club as if waking froma dream, not sure of what had happened beforehand. Roy, however, had fixed his gaze on the rapidly crumbling body of the succubus. He darted forward, scooping up some of the succubus dust before it completely decomposed. In a vial like it was in now, the dirt wouldn't disappear so fast. He pocketed it, descended the stairs, and strode through the crowd, which was visibly not dancing. They were all wondering what had just gone on above. Roy wasn't in the mood.

* * *

_/Cause sugar, we're going down swingin'/  
_

* * *

He left the building, knowing that if he didn't want her friends to come attack him, he'd lie low for a few hours. Reaching the car, Roy sat and grinned at Maes, who was looking at him expectantly. "Got her," he announced, tossing the vial of dust to Hughes. "She was simple to kill. Too easy, I thought." 

Hughes rolled his eyes. Roy was always complaining about how easy it was, but he knew that there was something unusual about Roy, despite what the other hunter thought. There had to be something nonhuman about him... no one could be that strong, that accurate with a gun, or that prepared to drown himself in booze, either. If he got into a drinking contest, he'd drink like he wanted to die. Maes could never understand why, or how, Roy was still living in the morning. Not that he wanted him dead, or anything. He had one hell of a liver, that was for sure... "She's actually worth a lot," replied Hughes now. "A bunch of wives raised a complaint about their husbands fawning over some 'bitch'. One of them finally posted a bounty for her. When we talk to Rubens, he'll send a 'you're welcome' over for us. I certainly don't want to be mobbed by frantic housewives, do you?"

"Sounds good to me, as long as they're sexy," said Roy with a smirk, then shook his head. "For now, I'm hungry. Let's go get something to eat from Rose. She'll be expecting us."

Maes nodded. He was quite hungry too, actually. Sitting around waiting actually worked up quite an appetite. "All righty. What's she got for us tonight?"

"Dunno, never asked. As long as it's not what _I _made last night."

"Frigged it up, did you?" asked the driver interestedly as he parked the Pony outside the apartment building. This parking space was known as Maes Hughes' 'Parking Space of Doom, since 1995'. Also known as Maes had decided he was awesome enough to spray paint one of the blocks in Day-Glo orange in the middle of the night.

"Nope," replied Roy, grinning. "Burned it. Rose had to throw water into the oven."

"Hm. Hate to see what that looks like," replied Hughes as he stepped out of the Pony. "Whatever she's got has got to be better than that."

"Course it is," snapped Roy, getting out and moving toward the building door. "C'mon, I'm hungry."

* * *

_/I'll be your number one with a bullet/  
_

* * *

They stood around in the elevator for about thirty seconds, but of course it felt longer than that. When they reached Roy's floor, both men stepped out cautiously. Hunter's instincts didn't lie, and both men knew at once that something here was wrong. They would proceed with caution. 

The two men reached the door, flattening their backs against the wall on either side. Roy pulled out the Cassull, slipping some more rounds into it. "This feels weird," he commented, shaking his head with a grin as Hughes pulled out his Beretta 92. "This is my _house."_

"Sure, but we don't know what's in there. Worst can happen is we'll scare the pants off Rose," replied Maes, shrugging. "Unless she's wearing a skirt. Ready?"

"Ready."

Maes took this opportunity to kick the door in, and then darted back, both men peering into the kitchen. Nothing was there, at least, not in that room, and Roy stepped in, swinging the Cassull slowly around the room, tracing a deadly path through the air. "Nothing's..." He paused. Roy had always had quite a good sense of smell, and this time was no exception. Blood... the scent of blood permeated the apartment. He followed his nose to the living room.

The room was covered in blood. It wasn't in a steady pool, but splattered all over the walls and furniture. Signs of a struggle..._  
_

Rose never did do things without complaint, not things she didn't like the idea of, and this would be no exception. Human or not, whoever had her was probably having trouble keeping her contained.

The phone rang then, and Roy looked at it sharply before picking up. "Hello?" he asked gruffly, a much different greeting than his usual "Hello, Mustang residence" that most got.

"She's gone, isn't she?"

Roy took the phone from his ear, staring at it. Edward... there was no way he was involved, was there? "Edward -- Rose -- ...she is," he affirmed after a pause.

There was a grim silence. Then Edward spoke again. "I know where to find her," was his reply. "But it won't be easy for humans to break her out. Meet me at the Statue of Liberty in four hours."

Roy opened his mouth to reply, but all there was in his ear was the dial tone. Damn... four hours... He put the phone down, then looked back at Maes, who was looking at him curiously. "Four hours to plan. C'mon."

* * *

_/A loaded god complex, cock it and pull it/  
_

* * *


	4. Hanabi

xD Man, We've been reading so much lately, We haven't written anything! Sorry, guys! At least We got PD finished. You know, We were going to end it with the kiss, but the betting joke was just too tempting. Anyway... chapter four, you guys! And unlike PD, We're just getting started!

**Review Replies: **

**Fullmetal LVR: **xD Yes, the fic! Good reader! -gives cookie- xD Thanks for reviewing!

**LoveChild Rosie: **o-o A gun? She's housewifey, not gunner-y! xD

**Momma Mustang: **xD Course he's a showoff. He's Roy, he's sexy and allowed to show off. xD

o-o You was wiki-ing... guns.

xD Nuh! No zombies allowed! Keep yous own brain, yous not gettin Ours!

xD No, it was actually considerably shorter. xD Don't you love him and his weirdness? Let's just make sure he doesn't answer himself. xD Ed's like... Batman. -needs batman jokes in this now- xDD

Yes, review, you mean people!

**Bar-Ohki: **Yesh, he is! He's a good boy!

**Lauren: **xDD Are you sucking up? Thank you for the nice review!

**Anonymous: **o-o Do they? But they make sense when they're all together. And they're all good songs, too. xD

**GreedxEd: **xD Of course he's not, but Roy is awesome enough to not care who he falls in love with, because he knows you can't help who you love. :3

-sigh- How many times do We have to say that We spell it 'Aru' for reasons that don't include official spellings? It's to prevent typos, people. And We wondered... why the hell does it matter to so many people anyway? xD All you guys are like 'It's Al!' and We're like 'Well We spell it Aru, go somewhere else if you have a problem'. It doesn't matter what the spelling is, you know what We mean, right? Don't review if that's all you're going to say.

**Disclaimer: **Don't own it! Ipod's copyrighted to like... Apple, or something, as you know. Theme this time is _Hanabi (Fireworks)_ by Ikimono Gakari, the seventh Bleach ED.

* * *

**CHILDREN OF CAIN**

* * *

_hanabi  
_

* * *

Her ipod was busted. 

"Damn," mumbled Rose, discouraged. She gazed at the two pieces of plastic and computer chip forlornly. "There goes all my songs... and I deleted a lot of those off the PC, too..." She sighed. She could live without an ipod. But it was in this room that she found herself becoming more and more desperate. It was more like a jail cell than anything, but so far they'd been... she couldn't really say 'kind', but that was the closest she could get. It had a nice bed, with a very soft duvet and mattress. The walls, though obviously made of large, smooth bricks, like a school classroom, were cerulean, which she found kind of weird, but her captors were 'kind of weird' too, so she supposed it was all right.

The girl hugged her knees, seated on the bed. Troublesome... this whole thing was troublesome. She wasn't even sure why she had been captured, to tell the truth; she just knew that it had to have something to do with her uncle and his job.

She looked up as the door to her little room opened, and in stepped a man with violet hair, adjusting his glasses as he stepped through the door. She was injured (one of the kidnappers had stabbed her in the shoulder), but she supposed he couldn't smell it through her bandages. (Actually, he could quite well; he was just ignoring it. Rose didn't know this, of course.) Or maybe it was just already almost healed? She always had a slightly faster healing rate than most, which she expected she got from her parents. Maybe it was a genetic thing. Rose found herself suddenly inspecting the man's hair. It was obviously dyed; no one had _violet _hair naturally. But it was dyed expertly -- if he had any roots, she couldn't see them. And it actually looked quite good on him... she squashed that thought. Of course it looked good. She knew what he was.

He stood before her, a small, almost-kind smile upon his lips. She glared back. There was no kindness in that smile, and Rose knew it as well as he. Gray eyes trained upon her, studied her for a moment. At first she thought he wasn't going to speak, but then he did, and his voice wasn't exactly what she expected, though she wasn't sure what she'd expected. It sounded moderately deep, and she had rather expected a softer voice. She wasn't quite sure why, it was one of those... unfounded assumptions. "So," was all the man said, sliding onto the bed and straddling her lap, both hands digging into the duvet on either side of her. "You're that girl... connected to him, aren't you?"

Rose didn't move, just sucked in a breath of air that was let out in surprise as he ran his tongue affectionately along her jugular vein. "I should bite you right now," he murmured huskily, nipping at the skin almost playfully. "You aren't even fighting back. It's a little disappointing. But, alas -- I have to keep you alive for the time being. I don't think Sloth and Wrath would be very happy about that at all. So I'll let you be, okay?" The man looked up as someone dashed into the little room, and he slid off her, glaring at the newcomer. "What is it, moron? Did something happen?"

"Wrath's been killed," said the vampire breathlessly. Obviously he was excited -- Rose knew vampires didn't need either a heartbeat or to breathe to live. He may have rushed, but he wouldn't need breath for that. "Killed by that hunter."

"What hunter?" asked the violet-haired man sharply; a tone considerably different from the husky one he'd been using just moments before. "Someone of interest?"

"That one Pride made friends with," answered the grunt, who seemed to be realizing that telling the man this might not be such a good idea. And it wasn't, Rose found herself realizing. The man had darted forward with demonic speed, and it seemed to her that he'd swung his arm _after _he'd passed the man. Blood spurted from the lesser vampire's throat, and Rose blinked.

The violet-haired man swore, shucking the blood off his hand, which had turned a dark cobalt and was rapidly turning the color of his pale skin once more. "What a waste of a soldier," he mumbled. Turning back to Rose, he smiled. "I'm called Greed. Let's be friends, okay? But I have to go now. I'm needed at... a friend's house, I guess you could say," he added. And then he was out the door. Rose stared after him as the lock clicked. _That _certainly didn't seem to be a good omen...

* * *

_/kirameite yurameite aoki yume mai hanatsu (Bloom proudly, way up high)/_

* * *

Roy sat with his head in his hands, hunched over on the couch. They had managed to prepare everything, all their weapons, everything. The Cassull was still in pretty good shape, and he was quite happy with that, loading it and shoving it in its holster. Maes had come equipped with two guns, a 9mm Browning Hi-Power, capable of holding thirteen cartridges and a fourteenth in the chamber, and the Beretta he had before, which held fifteen cartridges. The other man had also equipped himself with a secret weapon -- three grenades, lined up side-by-side on his belt. Now both men sat in the bloodstained living room, really wondering what to do. Roy looked up as the doorbell rang, and stood to answer it. 

He opened the door, blinking at the person on the other side. "Rubens, what are you doing here?" The man was looking a little peaky today, with his already-pale skin looking a little plaer, but that was all. Gray eyes behind wire-rimmed lenses studied him calmly, but Roy felt that there was a small sense of bloodlust that hadn't been there before. Their informant and middleman ran a newly-tattooed left hand through his violet hair wearily. Roy looked pensive for a moment, then grinned. "Ah, right, I have something for you." He moved to the table, digging through the pockets of his coat. He tossed the other man the vial of vampire dust, which Rubens looked at in disgust, but caught all the same.

"This won't be necessary," replied the former Alexander Rubens, dropping the vial with a sarcastic gasp. It shattered, and Roy watched, appalled, as the remains inside sizzled and decomposed, and he groaned. There went his pay, and it was all Rubens' fault. That guy _so _owed him.

"What --"

"--Was that for? I'm surprised you haven't found me out yet, Mustang. You with your special abilities should be able to figure it out. Come on, Mustang, think about it." Rubens' usually-kind face had twisted into a smirk. Roy's gazed narrowed. Vampire... cursed parasite of the underworld. And they'd gotten the _middleman. _Oh, joy.

"So, then, what's your name, bloodsucker?" asked Roy curtly, one hand rising to rest on the butt of his gun. Maes, who had kept one ear pricked for the conversation, came out of the living room, one hand digging in an inside pocket. Roy held up his other hand, and Maes dropped his own, but still looked wary, his normally-merry yellow-green eyes narrowed. "Or are you a sin as well?"

"Ah, so James was right," murmured Rubens. "You _did _make friends with Pride. Well, in that case, I suppose I should introduce myself. My vampire name is Escad. My coven name is Greed, recently adopted. I killed the previous one three days ago. Let's be friends, shall we?"

Roy growled. This guy was getting on his nerves. And... hadn't Edward said that there were seven? Rubens hadn't been bitten all that long ago; he'd seen the man just last week, and Ruebns had eben human then, as well as quite a lot nicer. Maybe attitudes changed when you turned? But on the other hand, what about Edward? Edward... must have been a special case. The boy had immense willpower; it didn't surprise Roy that he would be able to resist a change like that. The blackhaired man glared over at Rubens, or rather Greed, who was smiling at him. "Fine," he mumbled, folding his arms. "Friends. Would you mind leaving now?" It may have been a question, but of course there were the undertones of an order in there as well."

"Of course not," replied Greed easily, turning toward the door. "Just remember, we know where this apartment is." And then he was gone.

Maes put his hand on the doorframe and stepped all the way into the kitchen. "Who was _that?" _he asked blankly. "Couldn't have been Rubens..."

Roy sighed. "Someone I thought we knew."

* * *

_/Saki hokore haruka takaku (Sparkling, dancing, releasing a blue dream)/_

* * *

_"Mama! Mama!"_

_A small child ran forward, smiling and clutching something small to his skinny chest. "Mama! Look what I made!"_

_The brownhaired woman turned, kneeling beside the tomato plants she'd been working on. "What is it, Edward?"_

_The little blonde boy grinned, holding out the little toy. "I _transmuted _it! I put it together with _alchemy!_"_

_Trisha Elric smiled, patting his head affectionately. "That's very special. But it's too bad... that you couldn't do anything about me." Before the little boy could respond, she had collapsed. He put his hand out, to get a hold on her, keep her there, but her body fell apart in his grasp, and then he felt something's hot breath on his neck and a pair of sharp fangs sink into the vein there and then the rest of his memories pass by in a blur --_

Edward's eyes snapped open. The vampire was sitting on the Statue of Liberty's arm, and it seemed to him that he'd dozed off. "Damn," he mumbled, sighing and leaning against her forearm. "They're just the same stupid thing over and over again, aren't they? Always the same..." He blinked. A blue Mustang had just pulled into the parking lot, and the vampire looked pensive for a moment before he launched himself off the Statue's arm. His form changed shape as he went, arms developing a thin, stretched membrane, ears elongating, and to his disgust, he got quite a lot smaller. It was his favorite sort of illusion, the one that changed his form completely, instead of just changing his hair or eye color.

The bat floated down to earth slowly, basically dillydallying the glide away. Roy Mustang smirked as the bad landed and took on its own form once more. "Fitting," he commented, folding his arms as Edward glared at him and leaning agains the. "I suppose you thought something stereotypical of vampires was appropriate? You're a lot better than that, in fact, you seem to more feline to me than batty, Batman."

Edward scowled, folding his arms as well. "Is that so? I could turn into a lion and bite your head off, if you prefer. Won't hurt me. Dunno about you, but you seem pretty hardy to me, Mr Mustang. There's something different about you, I can tell. Nose doesn't lie," added the vampire, tapping said feature with a grin. "You're a mortal, I think, but you'll have quite the long life... your father guaranteed that." He paused, shaking his head. "But that's irrelevant. C'mon, we're off to save your girlie."

Roy glanced up at the Statue for a moment. "Right. Why did we meed you here?"

"Simple," replied the vampire smugly. "Our coven has been hiding down below that for ages."

* * *

_/Mamoriyuku sono omoi hitasura narihibike (The love that protects us rings out in earnest)/_

* * *


	5. Mad World

Well, We were disappointed, but not so much anymore, even if the regs only sent Us five reviews and We got like two from one person.

And like... We tried to type this up like four times. Each time, We lost it. xDD We feel very grateful to some unknown deity that it worked this last time.

**Review Replies:**

**Momma Mustang: **xD Yes! Sex god!

Yesh! Wiki!

o-o A collector? -shies away- -protects head-

xDD Course he does, bats aren't usually something he associates with actual vampires. Bats are a stereotypical thing. xD

Yesh, most of the time it's only three scenes. o-o xD THERE WERE FOUR ERRORS! Shhhh!

xD Updating, sir!

**Bar-Ohki: **Wonder? o-o Wonder about what?

**Fullmetal LVR: **xD Aw, don't be sad, you're getting updates!

**LoveChild Rosie: **He is sexy, isn't he? x3 Moar on the way!

**ehxhfdl14: **You have a scary username. o-o; And We're not quite sure if the first review was good or bad. Ed could smell it, yes, most vampires can, but do you think Roy is going to let them get that close to him anyway? He shoots now and asks questions later. Irwin is always the name We use for an evil sort of Ed. And Mustang's father is a topic that'll be explained later, and touched on a little in this chapter, though there's no explanation yet. No, there's no alchemy in the present time, but Edward was living 300 years ago. They had alchemy in the 1700s, but it was fading by then and being replaced by other sciences. He just happened to have been interested. He doesn't do alchemy anymore.

**GreedxEd: **xD No, We've only read a few chapters of Godchild, the ones dealing with Butterfly Mansion.

**Disclaimer: **Don't own it! Theme is 'Mad World' by Tears For Fears.

* * *

**CHILDREN OF CAIN**

* * *

_mad world  
_

* * *

Maes Hughes sighed, dropping his head down between his arms. He was on recon of the lower ducts inside the Statue, the upper airing shafts of the Sins' hideaway. He was worming his way through the ducts, which wasn't exactly the best job for a man who was as burly as he was, especially considering that out of the three allies, he was the tallest and the broadest of shoulder, but neither Roy nor the blonde vampire seemed to care. Which brought up another question. 

Why the hell had Roy made friends with a _vampire? _And how? Maes shook his head. Roy Mustang was the weirdest person he'd ever happened across. He still remembered the day he'd met the other hunter.

_He'd always been a regular visitor to Barrel Soul, the small bar in the corner of the bustling club, ever since he'd moved into the little apartment on Avenue B. He'd always ordered the same drink, and amber whiskey with two quickly-melting ice cubes and a straw that he never used._

_He lifted his hand to order another glass, then paused. Harry, the bartender, had already moved to the freezer and pulled out a tub of vanilla ice cream of massive proportions, and began piecing together a strawberry sundae, also gargantuan. Twenty-three-year-old Maes Hughes blinked, turning his gaze to the side behind his spectacles to the young man who had obviously ordered the sundae. Chips of darkness burned bright in an alabaster face, and his dark hair fell about his eyes in tousled-yet-neat black feathers. This was Roy Mustang, and he didn't care whether this was a bar or not, he wanted a goddamn sundae._

Maes smiled despite the spiderweb that had just become tangled around the antenna on his forehead. That had been eleven years ago, and it seemed to him Roy hadn't changed at all. He was still as weird as ever, and he still ordered sundaes alongside his shot of fireball and his larger glass of whiskey, hell, he looked as if he'd barely aged -- but that was Roy. It wasn't like Maes himself wasn't weird, definitely not, but at least they fit their job. Normal people didn't become vampire hunters, they became accountants, Roy had said to him once. Maes didn't see any reason to object to this.

The burly man blinked, peering down the vent that he had just come to. Unlike most of the rooms he'd passed, this one was bright, and he wrapped a hand around the Beretta's handle, then booted out the grate. Hughes lowered himself into the room, landing upon the carpeted floor almost silently. Maybe... it seemed like there was something in here. He pulled the gun out fully, wincing when he took off the safety and it made its little click. If there was something or someone in here, he didn't want to alert it that he was here too, even if it did already know.

A footstep, and then Maes Hughes bit his lip to stifle a sharp intake of breath as a strong, fluid chain found its way around his throat and began to tighten.

* * *

_/And I find it kind of funny/_

* * *

"C'mon, we haven't got all day." Synonyms for 'hurry up' seemed to be the only thing Edward was capable of saying, and it was starting to annoy Roy, to be blunt. He and the vampire were darting along a darkened corridor, hiding when Edward reported he sensed someone coming. There were a few instances in which they only narrowly escaped, and Edward reported that this probably wouldn't be the last. 

Roy sighed, straightening up and trotting along easily beside the vampire. "So what's our destination?" he questioned, lifting a brow. "We're not just trotting around here forever, are we? Cause seriously, I've got a need for a strawberry sundae and a glass of whiskey. Got anything in mind?"

Edward nodded, producing a skeleton key from a pocket in the red coat he was sporting, the silver ornamentation attached to the coat jingling happily. He stepped to a nearby door then, shoved the key in the lock, and opened it up. "You're gonna need some equipment. Most weapons don't work against the seven elite members of this coven, even though Wrath, after a load of bullets, goes down fast." At Roy's blank stare, the vampire shook his head, then pushed the door open. "There's more than seven. When I said there were seven of us --" and this Roy found a little astounding. He certainly wouldn't have remembered if he had been the speaker. "-- I meant that there were seven on top. We don't have a Wrath anymore, she got killed tonight, and our Greed was recently replaced."

Roy looked guilty. "Was Wrath...?"

The blonde grinned, pulling Roy in after him and turning on a light. "I know, you killed Camryn. It made me want to help you get your niece back more, actually, because I knew you wouldn't go down without a fight. But then again, there's something demonic about your scent." He paused. "Did you know your father?"

Roy was taken aback at the question, but shook his head. "No. I never met him. What does that have to do with..." But Edward was already gone, pulling down various weapons off the wall. He was sifting through a drawer when Roy joined him, flipping through clips of bullets as if they were CDs and musing to himself. "What're you doing?" asked the darkhaired man, peering over the vampire's shoulder.

"D'you have a 9mm pistol?" The darkhaired man shook his head. An obviously-bootlegged pistol was shoved into his grasp promptly. He looked at it for a moment, then looked back up at Edward, who shrugged. "It's bootlegged, but it'll work pretty well unless you screw it up, which I think is likely unless you hold back a little. The bullets that fit in there contain different materials. Grave dirt, holy water, crystallized demon blood, the list goes on. And they fit in other guns as well, so it might be wiser to get something that works better, with your skills."

Roy lifted a brow, but put the pistol away anyway. It didn't particularily matter to him, but Edward seemed to know what he was doing, which made him wonder another thing: why? Why was Edward helping him like this? Roy knew that as Pride, Edward had an extremely high position on the vampiric social ladder. So why was he helping kill all of them? Simple, Roy realized. One of them had to have sired him, for sure, and obviously he didn't want to be what he was. Roy could only assume this was Edward's way of getting revenge.

"Anyway, you can have whichever you like, but I want to kill Envy," Edward was saying. "I have a score to settle with Elazul, and I want to take him down myself. You can have the rest." He shrugged. "Anyhow, our next destination's the dungeon. Think you're prepared?"

Roy snorted. "Of course. Anytime."

* * *

_/I find it kind of sad/_

* * *

Hughes gritted his teeth, bending his arm and succeeding in jabbing his attacker in the stomach. He jerked his head back to escape the chain as the other moved, giving an animalistic yelp that Hughes was a little surprised to hear. Maes whirled around, narrowing his eyes. There crouched a man -- but it wasn't a man. Well, it was half one. Two pointed, twitching lupine ears sat upon the longhaired creature's head, and his furry knees were bent backwards, creating legs that could be used both for walking upright or on all fours. Yellow eyes were fixed on him almost hungrily, watching what seemed to be his every move. Maes blanched. The werewolf in front of him -- for that was what it had to be -- was someone he'd known in highschool. 

"Kimbley!"

Kimbley blinked, then grinned, showing off a pair of rather impressive fangs. He straighened up, approaching the man with an uneven gait that almost reminded Hughes of a gorilla. He ran his finger across the chain longingly as he regarded the bespectacled hunter. "Ah, yes, I know you. The Hughes boy, huh? And all grown up, too. You were always weird."

The man's yellow-green gaze narrowed. This was not his idea of a good time, definitely not. "Oh, of course. What brings you here, Kimbley? Last time I saw you you were the skinny kid in the corner of History that took pleasure in setting off cherry bombs, not a werewolf who's in the company of a load of vampires. What's changed?"

"Nothing," replied the wolf with a shrug. "They just promised me a huge stash of explosives if I helped them out, and frankly, I don't see a reason why not to. I'm a man of opportunity, after all."

Hughes rolled his eyes, one hand on the butt of the Browning. "And what's with that look?" he asked, more for a need to stall than actual want of knowing. Kimbley would kill him in an instant if he didn't keep the wolf occupied. "You modeling the newest fur designs?"

Kimbley growled. He didn't take well to being made fun of, and Maes knew it. Once the scrawnier man had thrown a cherry bomb at a couple of girls who were giggling in his direction after he'd caught the word 'freakshow'. It was all everyone could do to get the explosive out of the way of the two females. "If you must know, it's full moon tonight. I haven't seen it, though, so I've only gone halfway. You'll be in trouble if I go outside, though."

A chuckle, and Hughes had stepped forward, Browning pressed calmly against the wolf's head. "Only one of us is going outside tonight, and it's not you, so that kinda narrows it down, doesn't it?" The wolf snarled and scrambled away. The man followed the shadow with his gun, then shot off a single bullet, grinning at the yelp of pain he was rewarded with. "You like that, Kimbley? Never thought I'd end up duking it out with an old classmate, but here we are, and I s'pose I've got to, don't I?"

Kimbley growled, stalking out from nursing his tail, where Hughes had hit. "You're a bastard, you know that? Swear, if I didn't have a deal with the vampires, I wouldn't even be here. But, as it is, I'm charged to kill anyone who shows up in this place, and you are currently 'anyone'." The wolf darted away again, and Hughes stood wary, trying not to show any form of fear, even though inside his mind was going a mile a minute.

And then from behind a shelf, the wolf leapt, chain once again tight against Hughes' throat, and Maes knew he was in trouble unless he got the wolf off him. But his strength was fading with his breath, and he knew there was only one chance left. The three explosives... lined up on his belt. And he took that chance, and as the man pulled one off his belt, he knew he was going to die as well.

How did he know, he wondered suddenly. There was nothing like his memories flashing past his eyes. There was just... serenity, even as he pulled the pin out and dropped the explosive, nudging it with a foot so that it was between them. Serenity, even as Kimbley's eyes widened and he murmured a word of apology to Roy, who he hadn't gotten to say goodbye to. The other hunter would probably be pissed... but he had no time for that now.

_Goodbye._

And then an inferno ripped through the room. The courageous last stand of an experienced mercenary was commemorated in flame.

* * *

_/The dreams in which I'm dying/_

* * *

Someplace else in the massive underground fortress, Roy Mustang looked up in surprise. At the same time, in the vast night sky, a star winked out of existence.

* * *

_/Are the best I've ever had/_

* * *


	6. Renegade

Well, hello, friends, We come bearing the sixth chapter of dear little CoC, which is quickly becoming... not as popular as PD. What is wrong with you people?! xD This story is much more exciting, in Our opinion. Or did you all just like cross-dressing Ed more than you like vampire Ed?

**Review Replies: **

**Bar-Ohki: **xD We're glad you like it. Thank you for the review!

**Momma Mustang: **xD SG!

o-o Scary!

xDD Nyupe.

xDD Good! -clings- At least someone does. xP

xD Yeah!

xD; Sorry, Taisa, it had to happen. You knows why. xD Of course he had to go out with a bang, he's very dramatic in scenes like this.

xD Isn't he dumb, though? xD Vacation is nice, though! Ed and Roy agreed on it! Of course he had to go. There is a need for the nice ones to go.

**LoveChild Rosie:** xD; Sorry, Rosie.

**GreedxEd: **Oh, We see. Thank you for telling Us, We'll have to check that out.xD Sorry, he needs to die.

**Pink-Haro01: **Updating! -salute- Yesh, he's dead, but there's a reason, that's all We'll say.

Disappointing, once again... only five reviews total this time. And... We apologize for such a long author's note, but you know you love Us.

* * *

**CHILDREN OF CAIN**

* * *

_renegade_

* * *

Roy Mustang glanced up. There was a sudden emptiness, but he wasn't quite sure where it had come from. Edward seemed to have noticed too, so he knew that he wasn't just imagining things. Something had happened, but he wasn't sure what. All he knew was that he had heard a distant sound, and then felt It.

What was _It, _exactly? Something bad, obviously, for nothing good could possibly follow along with that sound. But... And then he knew. Roy wasn't sure exactly how he knew, just... he knew, sure as he knew he had a massive custom-made pistol in his waist holster and sure as he knew what Edward was. Maes was dead, it was clear as water. The gun Edward had passed to him clattered to the floor as his fingers began to shake. The blonde turned to him, but Roy had already bent to pick it up, fumbling and almost dropping it again. "It's... raining," he said quietly, and Edward looked at him curiously.

"But... it's not raining. It's clear tonight."

Roy shook his head. Of course the vampire wouldn't understand. "Yes it is," he insisted, turning away. He knew he was going to cry, and he didn't want Edward to see, even if the other could easily find out anyway. "Of course it's raining. This is rain."

The blonde blinked, then gave a weary smile and stepped forward, patting Roy on the shoulder. "Come on. You've still got one left."

Roy nodded. "All right. Let's go." There was no trace of the tear that had just been on his cheek, unless you counted the slight line of moisture that trailed down his face. Edward knew that Roy would much rather have him think that it was sweat or something rather than a read, and he decided that was what he would think, even if he knew better. "So..." Roy looked over to Edward, who blinked curiously. "Which way is the dungeon?" asked the man sheepishly.

The blonde grinned. "C'mon, we'll never get anywhere if you don't know what the hell you're doing."

* * *

_/The jig is up, the news is out/  
_

* * *

Rose felt it too, down in her cell far below the ground. She knew there was something wrong, but unlike Roy, she couldn't tell exactly what it was. But there had to be something unfortunate. She knew Maes, of course she did, but she found that she could not possibly understand what was going on. She wondered... what had happened? 

The door creaked open then, and the girl's gaze jolted up to the newcomer. She barely relaxed, even though she knew this person. Greed, back again. He stood with his arms crossed, leaning against the wall beside the door. "You didn't miss me, did you?" he smirked, watching her with unfeeling gray depths. "I sure hope not, I would just feel _so _bad. But you know --" Here he stepped to Rose, who was standing in the middle of the room, and kept going, pushing her down against the bed. "It's always nice to know I'm wanted."

Rose squirmed backwards, and Greed followed her, pinning her down on her back and bringing his face down so their noses were only inches apart. Rose finally found the strength to speak to him and glared up as she did. "Why are you so interested in me, anyway? I'm sure there are prettier girls than me, not to mention I'm just a human, right?"

Escad's lips curled into a smile, but she knew it wasn't a kind one, no matter how he acted. "Oh, canary, how you wound me," he replied, shaking his head. "Come, now. You don't want to be my kitten, forever revered among the other elite? The position of Wrath is still open, after all, I'd think you'd like to take it." He barely moved, but Rose's eyes were wide open as he captured her lips for a split second. And then he withdrew, sitting back up and settling on her stomach. "Wouldn't you like that? I certainly would -- you're very fun to play with."

"Get..."

"Mm? Ah, yes, of course. You're playing hard to get, aren't you?" The vampire leaned over again, trailing up her throat with a smooth tongue. "You would like it, I know. You might say you won't, but I know you'll get curious. You'll want to know... what it tastes like. And then what? You'll come back to me, won't you? You, who are simply a human, ignorant and slow. A vampire's immortality is something found only in your dreams. But it's more than a dream. It can be your reality, if you let it. So now... you need to _stop struggling_."

Rose's eyes widened as her body relaxed of its own accord. Of course... hypnosis. But she was still conscious. He wanted her to see this. And she knew now... these were her last moments as a human being. She was going to join them in the ranks of the undead and she couldn't do a goddamn thing about it. "Get... get off," she snarled, though her voice was weak and it took all she had through the hypnosis to even speak.

"Now, now," said Greed, who seemed to be getting a little irritated. "You really have to stop. Just relax, eh?"

* * *

_/They've finally found me/_

* * *

They were a floor above the dungeon now. Edward said that there were nine levels of the secret world below the Statue of Liberty, because the vampires who had originally inhabited the place had been big fans of Dante's _Divine Comedy_. Roy found the name 'Dante' quite familiar, but he didn't know where he'd heard it before, aside from having heard of the _Comedy _himself. But there was something else there... deep below the surface of his mind. 

Roy looked up at Edward now, who was looking quite determined. He smiled faintly, but was sure to drop the smile as Edward turned toward him. He was a little relieved that the other was simply turning a corner, however. Roy was... more than a little surprised that Edward was so bent on helping him. But he supposed the other was getting a sort of equivalency out of it. Roy helped Edward eliminate the vampires he hated, Edward helped Roy get his niece back and as an added bonus, probably be given a title among mercenaries. "How much further?"

"Ten feet and an elevator," replied Edward, and Roy snorted. Trust this weird vampire to have an odd sense of humor. Even despite knowing what had happened to Maes, he was laughing at stupid things. He was either very strong or very out of it, and he was betting on the latter. "Ah, here we are," announced the blonde, pressing a button on the wall beside what was obviously an elevator door. The button glowed green, and the door opened obediently. The blonde stepped in carelessly, but Roy followed cautiously. He was a bit claustrophobic, to tell the truth -- he didn't like elevators all that much, even though other small places he was fine with. They reminded him too much of a past mission in a different bloodsucker hideout, in which one of them had foolishly stepped on a floor switch. The walls had begun to close in immediately. Roy still got shivers thinking about it. So as he entered the elevator, he looked around warily. Edward gave him a curious look, but pressed the down arrow anyway.

"How far down is the next floor?" asked Roy, leaning against the rail in the little boxy room. "Not too far, I hope."

"No, of course not," replied the vampire, who was standing with his arms crossed in the middle of the elevator. "It's a small descent. Maybe five minutes." And with that he fell silent, waiting the time away. Roy scowled. It was easier to distract himself from the claustrophobia if he was talking, but Edward didn't seem to be in the mood, so he fiddled with his pistols nervously till the door opened, upon which he darted outside. Edward looked confused, but followed him out.

* * *

_/A renegade who had it made/_

* * *

Her neck was on fire. Her mind was filled with blurry images which were quickly dissipating, her memories replaced with the stuff of nightmares. Cold numbness gripped her for an instant before it was replaced with white-hot agony. She wanted to clap a hand over her neck: the pain radiated from there, but she could do nothing, because Greed still had her paralyzed and his fangs still clamped down on her neck, and he seemed not about to let go until all her blood was gone. 

Was this what it was like to become one of them? Agony beyond belief? She wished that she hadn't been home when they'd captured her. She almost wished she hadn't gotten so mixed up with her uncle, but that was selfish, wasn't it? It didn't matter anymore... She supposed she deserved to be selfish this time.

And then another wave of pain hit her, and she was suddenly clutching her mother's bloodied, ravaged body to her chest, trying in vain to get her somewhere in time to save her, but even so she knew it wasn't going to happen. Another wave, and a traitorous, vampire-employed werewolf was stabbing her in the shoulder, spattering blood all over the apartment. Another, and Greed's lips were pressed against hers, and she felt something new in his kiss -- lust. Her own lust. And then --

Black.

The girl relaxed entirely. It was evident to Greed as he withdrew that she had fainted, and he removed his teeth from her throat with a smirk. The violet-haired man's lips moved soundlessly for a moment as he ran a list of names through his mind. "You... need a name, Kitten. I think... you're now called Lucemia. That's a pretty name, Kitten. I hope you'll like it when you awake." The door opened then, and Greed snarled, removing himself halfway from the body. "You."

"Me," said Pride flatly, stepping into the room and regarding Escad boredly. "Are you having fun, Escad? I would think you were, but I've learned to think of you as unpredictable. Tell me, what have you done now?" He swore internally. He didn't need to ask, viewing the female sprawled on the bed. "...Never mind. I'll leave you to your --"

"Hold on."

Irwin blinked, turning to glance at Roy. He sighed. This was going from bad to worse...

"I'm going to kill this bastard right here. I know what just happened to my niece," said the hunter fiercely, and he pulled out his oversized Cassull swiftly, aiming it at Escad's head.

Greed just smiled. "If you can, love. If you can."

* * *

_/Retrieved for a bounty/_

* * *


	7. Let The Flames Begin

Dude, We looked for so long for the draft of this chapter. Turned out it was hiding under a T-shirt on Our dresser... xP

**Review Replies: **

**Momma Mustang: **xD Does you like it? We'll have to do that for you a bit more, then, huh? 8D

xD Yeah! A big Maes-size hole. D: Everyone loves him, too! Ebil man! He has to stop doing that...

Aww! Dun criiies! xD It was cheesy though. Sorry about that. xD Was it?

Yesh! Claustrophobic! We thought it was a pretty good idea. :3

xD You act like he's an original.

xD We're doing that, sir:3 We don't actually know what the end is going to be... o-o; xDD You hog Us to yourself anyway.

**GreedxEd: **xD Maybe. We're not quite sure. They're not very romantic so far, and they tell Us We've made them kiss too much, not, of course, that they don't enjoy it, but a fic can't be a fic with only snogging, right?

**Bar-Ohki: **o-o;; We so... did not understand that.

**ehxhfdl14: **:3 Isn't it? Where We got it from, though, that character isn't even human, nor is it pretty. xD o-o; Nah, he's lame.

We meant that it's just... hard to type in. xD We had to paste it.

**kingdomhearts222: **Oh, of course We did, dear. Roy is a special boy, innee? So he gets special 'Tony'-like traits. And what Roy is will be explained later. He doesn't even know himself, really.

**LoveChild Rosie: **xDD Sorry, Rosie, We know how much you hate them, but We had to do it. o-o He'll try. xD Thanks.

**silver candle: **:3 Thanks! That's really nice to hear. xD PD isn't as good as this, We agree. When We began to write PD We told Ourself We wouldn't work on any other real fics till it was done, and then CoC started chewing on Our ankles.

**keegan94820: **xDD That's the only reason you like that chapter? Thanks for the review! xD Actually, We didn't know that. We're not very in touch with current events in the music world. We don't watch TV all that often.

**msberry: **:3 Thank you!

Kay, you guys, We are so sorry for the wait. D: Please don't hate Us!

**Disclaimer: **Don't own it! Theme is Let The Flames Begin by Paramore.

* * *

**CHILDREN OF CAIN**

* * *

_let the flames begin  
_

* * *

Neither moved, man nor monster. Roy snarled, stepping forward. His gun clicked in what would have been an ominous manner had he been pointing it at anyone else. But Greed didn't particularly care, especially not as what seemed to be cobalt stone covered his fingers, turning them to blackened claws. This was the unique power of Greed's that he had been granted upon becoming a member of the elite vampire council, and he was eager to try it out. His offspring had it too, but only in an 'opposite Achilles heel' sort of way, only one controlled area could become shielded. However, Greed could cover his entire body in the stuff, which was much more effective. "Well?" said the violet-haired vampire with a smirk. "Going to kill me, or shall we have tea?" 

"Tea?" snorted Roy, pressing the gun firmly against Escad's head. "You're kidding, right? I really don't see any scones around here, for one." He squeezed the trigger a single time and the gun went off obediently, but Greed wasn't fazed. Roy took this opportunity -- a foolish and stupid one, of course -- to drop his pistol and launch himself at the bespectacled vampire.

The next few moments were compacted into just a few seconds. Roy aimed a kick at Greed's face, and the vampire retaliated by catching the hunter's ankle and slamming him into the ground, knocking the wind out of the blackhaired man. Edward moved forward to retrieve Roy before the violethaired one did anything, but Greed blocked his way and the blonde swore. Without warning Roy found himself in Escad's grasp, beginning to struggle. Pride dove forward, but Greed kicked him in the face and Edward groaned, dropping back and clutching his nose. Broken. Even if it wouldn't take long to heal completely, it had still stunned him, and he watched, unable to do anything as Greed shoved his thumb into the soft tissue at the base of Roy's neck. The hunter went immediately limp.

Pride growled, and Greed gave him a venomous look. "Clear off, Irwin. You might have thought you were doing him a favor, but you're just messing with him, aren't you? Just bringing him here to be captured... Oh, well. Sloth will be pleased to have a new plaything, I think." He snapped his fingers, gazing at the door. Edward stood, cracking his now-healed nose back into place with a thumb. A pair of grunts stepped into the room and Greed tossed them the unconscious hunter's body. "There you are. Take him to the lab. Number five, got it?"

They nodded and left. Greed grinned over to Irwin, who snarled and stomped out after them. If he had no partner, he had no way to attack the rest of the leaders. And therefore he'd have to wait before trying to rescue Roy... And that meant doing nothing while they dragged the only human who had ever been sympathetic to him before away, even lower underground. Who knew what Sloth would do... It definitely wouldn't be anything good, at least. He sighed, then moved to the bed, gathering Rose's body into his arms. All he could do was bring her to the chamber were newborns were cared for, and not much else. One of Greed's would tend to her, at least.

* * *

_/What a shame/_

* * *

Lab Number Five was dim, illuminated only by a couple of bottom-lit test tubes and hundreds of computer monitors. She sat calmly, legs crossed, observing the scene from far above the work area in a small observational pavilion. Lips made to form small, happy smiles were twisted into a smug, I'm-just-that-much-better-than-you, Roy-esque smirk. Blue eyes watched her one experiment, curled in his tube peacefully, brown eyes closed, sandy brown hair brushing his forehead ever so lightly. "Ah, Sebastian," murmured Sloth to the man in the human-sized vial, "you'll have a friend soon. Greed's lackeys sent me a little present. Would you like to meet him?" Sebastian didn't speak, of course, and Sloth shrugged to herself, standing and brushing her long blonde hair back behind her shoulders. "I suppose I'll have to go visit him, then, hm? Can't have him not knowing me, after all, right, Sebby?" Yet again, the man did not answer, and Sloth straightened her skirt and stepped away, down the long flight of stairs to meet the man her Irwin was so infatuated with. 

Roy Mustang watched her come. He'd been tossed into a small glass room and locked inside, and when he woke up, he'd been quite confused before he remembered the confrontation between himself and Greed. He supposed... this is what had become of him after he'd blacked out. And now he was watching a slim woman descend the stairs at the other side of the vast room, move easily past the human shape (at least, he thought it was a human-like shape) curled inside the large test tube, and approach him. Roy wasn't quite sure what to make of this, but when she opened the door of his transparent prison and simply seated herself, he was interested enough to sink to the floor and watch her from across the room. He'd seen this girl, of course. He remembered her quite well from earlier, when he'd jumped out the door of the Mustang, dodged traffic and then ran straight away from her, dragged by one very energetic vampire. But he'd never... "I didn't get your name earlier," he said then, speaking his mind, even though he was quite certain of her name. He'd heard Edward yelling over his shoulder at her, after all.

She just looked at him. Roy found himself feeling rather uncomfortable, which was rather odd considering he was the person who usually made others feel uncomfortable. He waited for her to speak. When she did, he was a little confused because her voice seemed to come from everywhere, but then again, he knew it had something to do with the fact that they were in a very strange room. "Winry," she reminded him gently, but he really did not trust that gentleness. "My name is Winry. But I didn't hear yours," she said suddenly, becoming thoughtful. "What are you called?"

Roy paused. He knew exactly what this girl was and he did not trust her at all, of course, but she'd extract the information from him anyway, so there wasn't much point in lying. "Roy."

"Oh, yeah," she replied with a bright smile. "I remember you now! But then again..." And she was moving, making her way toward him, and she knelt behind him, slipping her arms around his neck. "You're close to Irwin, aren't you, _Roy? _Then let it be known that he is _mine. _One like you won't have him, even as a friend. A human is not worth his time. Maybe..." And now she was nipping at his neck with sharp fangs, though she did not bite down. "Maybe you'd be better off being something other than human, wouldn't you say? Then maybe you'd have a chance... ne?"

The man tensed, trying not to move so as to keep himself from a very untimely death. He'd come this far, to be bitten at this point would have been a waste of his efforts, and then both Maes' and Rose's deaths would have been in vain. "Maybe," he replied, shifting slightly. He knew he could not get his gun in time to shoot her before she bit, but he could shift to a position where he could kick her or something... "But I think I like being human, thanks. It doesn't cost becoming a parasite to live."

She growled slightly, but composed herself, still hissing into his ear. "Is that so? You think you're so smart and witty, don't you? Well I'll tell you a secret, Mr High And Mighty: we're not parasites. We're a new generation of civilization who will one day triumph over that need for the blood of those pathetic humans and will live on our own. We are pioneers."

Roy turned his head, staring at her. "Pioneers, you say? What you're saying is like humans saying they won't need food and drink one of these days. Do you know how idiotic you sound?"

Her rage did not cease this time, and she slammed a fist against his back, once again knocking the wind out of him. Roy's breath hitched, and he clutched his chest, trying to regain it. He opened his mouth to speak, but she cut him off. "Shut up!" barked Sloth. "You don't know anything! We will! Unlike you, I've spent my entire life --" Roy gave a snort. Life? "-- researching!"

"That's... that's very good," replied Roy, still trying to regain his breath. "But unlike you, I have a life."

"Shut _up!" _

His last thought, before she shifted and slammed a foot into the side of his head was wonder at how someone who was supposed to be Sloth was so... Wrath-y.

* * *

_/We all became such fragile, broken things/_

* * *

She awoke in the dark. 

It was dark here, and as she moved she found herself lying in a warm liquid. She wondered... where was she now? The girl sat up, the smell of blood heavy in the air. What was going on? She couldn't see anything. It was black, totally black, but at the same time, as she blinked, the hand she had tried to stretch out and gaze at was slowly swimming into her vision. And now it was lighter, and she blinked as she found a young woman kneeling beside her. "Hello," said the other softly, in a small voice. "You're Lucemia, aren't you?"

Her brow furrowed. "No, I'm Ro-- ..." She trailed off. "No, it's Lucemia, isn't it...?" she murmured.

The mousy one gave her a smile, nodding. "Yes, I think so," she replied, passing the redhead a bowl of warm liquid Lucemia recognized immediately as blood. "You'll want to drink it. I expect you're hungry, right...?"

"Mm." She found herself unable to stop, downing it immediately, lapping at the drizzle that simply dripped out once she'd finished the majority of the liquid. Putting the bowl down, where it floated in the six-inch-deep liquid they were sitting in, she looked over at her brownhaired companion. "And who are you?"

"Er... Schiezka," said the other, not expecting this. "I didn't sire you, though I was charged to nurse you... They don't do anything by themselves, those seven --" She immediately cut herself off. "Er... s-sorry..."

Lucemia paused, then shook her head. "It's fine."

Schiezka nodded slowly, collecting the bowl from the liquid which Lucemia finally recognized as what it was -- more blood. "All right. Greed-san sends his regards, by the way, and said he would be down to see you soon."

* * *

_/A memory remains, just a tiny spark/_

* * *

Pain. 

White-hot, mind-numbing pain.

He was writhing in place, howling in agony, trying, with some animalistic instinct, to get away, even if there was nowhere to go.

Sloth seemed to tower above him, simply smiling as she flicked switches and turned dials, all concentration flowing into the helmet-like apparatus she had positioned on her head. She gave him the parody of a kind smile through the visor at him, but there was no kindness left for him as his body convulsed and curled into a small ball in the middle of the floor.

Roy Mustang was trapped, and he knew it.

He wasn't sure how it had happened. All he knew that for the second time in a night (more like the morning now, really) he had blacked out, and when he awoke once more, he was here. The male was unsure of anything, except that it was the same glass prison that had held him before, and Sloth had mounted a crane-like chair, able to descend, ascend and move back and forth at will. He wasn't sure how the prison itself worked, but it seemed to be able to transfer pain to him. At least, that was what it seemed to be -- he couldn't help feeling that in addition to the pain, there was something there.

And now, in his mind, he heard a whisper of things past, of lessons he should have heeded, of

_(maybe you'd be better off becoming something other than human)_

statements that he knew he should have damn well listened to.

He whined, whimpered, moaned. Gave any sound that would try its best to portray the agony he was experiencing now, but nothing seemed to work. And he could hear Sloth's gleeful crow from above him now: "Do you like this, human? I made it especially for bastards like you, you see. Your little prism there dishes out pain tenfold the amount I concentrate on. It's very nice, isn't it? State of the art, really. I'm proud of it, aren't you?"

Roy didn't answer, simply curled tighter into his small ball, willing his misery to stop.

Sloth simply laughed. Laughed, and let the pain commence.

Before his mind registered the pain and blanked out once again, he had one last thought -- what the hell was he a martyr for?!

* * *

_/I give it all my oxygen/_

* * *

Irwin scowled, rolling over and pressing his face into the pillow. He didn't really need to sleep, even more so than the others of his kind because of his constant insomnia, but it didn't matter. He was mentally exhausted, and he really wished for a simple break, and the many beds in their stronghold were quite good for that. 

The blonde rolled over and sat up, wondering just what was the point of having mirrors in every room of this place. Someone had obviously thought it a great joke, because none of them could see their reflections anyway, having to rely on each other and their fragile bonds of 'trust' to make sure they looked half-decent. Irwin found it especially hard simply because he had long hair and did not always braid his hair properly, but that was fine.

He gave a sigh, sending the mirror a death glare and swinging his legs over the side of the bed, head in his hands. Why had he... brought Roy here?

_Your own gain, _peeped up a voice in his head with a smug tone. _You needed him, so you lured him here, isn't that right?_

No... That's not right, he argued with himself, shaking his head. It was equivalent exchange, like the alchemy I practiced as a child...!

The voice sounded amused. _Equivalent exchange? Didn't your _mother _ever tell you, _Edward, _that equivalent exchange... il n'existe pas?_

He scowled, smacking a fist on the duvet and standing. There was no time for arguments with himself, especially if he was losing his English. There was no time for this, definitely not. Simply because he had studied French didn't mean he had to slip into it all the time. It wasn't his mother tongue and he wouldn't fucking stand for losing his _English_.

But for now, language issues aside... all he could do was wait. Wait, and hope that Roy would be able to cope until the time came for him to find him once again.

* * *

_/So let the flames begin/_

* * *


	8. Chicago Is So Two Years Ago

Oh God, you guys, We're sorry! We feel like this is kinda slipping away from Us... .. -guilty about not updating- Please don't hate Us!

**Momma Mustang: **xD We take that as 'I like it'.

:O Vato! We never thought of him! Poor poor Vato... We'll has to add him!

xD We can't, but he's short so who cares?

xD That's okay. Yesh! Love! xD Doing more!

**Fullmetal LVR: **xD Sorry about that. Maybe it's karma?

**Resident Quetzal: **xD Thank you very much. We're hoping to do something spectacular like that too!

**GreedxEd: **No, he doesn't want her, who would? xD She thinks he wants her though.

**ehxhfdl14: **We love Schiezka. xD She's so cute and mousy, why wouldn't We put her in here? And actually, that picture is how We named Our Sins. Course, not all of them are there.

**Rosie: **xD Yeshhh. -pets- She'll get what's coming to her one of these days.

**Roy: **xD Sorry! We'll have to chat about it and remind you, yesh? xD He doooes.

**ash892cute4u: **Hmm, perhaps. x3

**Bar-Ohki: **O-o Eh?

**silver candle: **Yes ma'am!

**StoryofGreen: **xD Here you are.

**Disc****laimer: **Don't own it! Chapter theme this time is _'Chicago is So Two Years Ago'_ by Fall Out Boy.

* * *

**CHILDREN OF CAIN**

* * *

_chicago is so two years ago  
_

* * *

_Black._

_The world was black, but with the black came a small light. He couldn't blink, or wouldn't -- either way, his body was weightless, floating above, below, beside, behind all at once._

_He __had a body, right? It wouldn't make sense for him to be able to see and yet not have a body, he thought, but that part of him was the logical one, and he was never really all that logical when in this state._

_What state?_

_He paused in his thoughts, tilting his head -- that was, if he had one. He didn't quite know. But that was all right. It didn't matter anymore, really -- what was in front of him was much more interesting than the blackness or his weightlessness._

_It was only a small flame, but he knew it, and he felt certain that it knew him as well. It flickered brightly, a flame without a wick to sustain it, yet living. It interested him indefinitely, and an eternity (or maybe just a second) passed before he reached out to it and touched it._

His eyes snapped open as not only his hand, but his entire body seared with cold, yet hot. He was almost getting used to the pain... Why was he always in so much pain, anyway? he wondered suddenly. His mind was crumbling under the pressure, but he could remember, however vague, the name of the witch who had done -- who was _doing -- _this to him. He could see her now, smirking down at him with blue eyes that seemed capable only of smiling, and yet they were not -- they were looking down at him with unexplained hatred, hatred that his mind could not comprehend. Why? Why would she do this? Her smirk widened, baring fangs that she was too careless to keep sheathed.

And then --

The pain stopped. It was quickly replaced by a growing sense of... what was near bliss compared to the violent pain. His form, curled up as tightly as he could on the floor, stretched out, the tortured man lifting his head carefully from the ground and blinking carefully, obsidian eyes dimmed, but blinking the glaze away at the happily grinning form that was seated on the floor beside him.

"Hughes...?" His voice was hoarse, the result of many screams in only a few moments. He sat up more fully, mouth half-open and fingers splayed on the cold floor, dragging his oddly-exhausted body toward what had to be some sort of apparition. It had to be. "You're... you're dead."

The bespectacled man blinked, then gave a laugh, shaking his head and thumping Roy on the back. "Of course not, silly goose!" he laughed, in that overly-happy way that Hughes had always done. "What makes you think that? I'm right here, aren't I? You haven't been drinking, have you?"

The smaller of the pair growled, shaking his head furiously and gripping it as he ended up with a giant stab of headache. "No, I haven't! Hughes, you're..."

"Don't worry about it," chuckled Hughes, shrugging, antenna bobbing. "I think you just need some sleep. Wouldn't that be..."

Roy didn't hear the rest of the sentence. He couldn't listen while watching the black sneak up Hughes' arm from a fingertip, the black that seemed almost cancerous, infecting him from one point and moving on till he was covered in the stuff, dark hair even blacker. "Hughes!" he barked, but --

He screamed. Pain, white-hot, pouring through his veins like liquid fire. Hughes was gone, replaced with thin air, but in one corner of his mind he could see it -- could see the fire wreathing his body, burning the pair alive, but the man could still see his best friend, even if he knew the man wasn't even in his hallucination anymore. Both were burning, but Hughes didn't seem to feel it -- he simply sat, sat even as his clothes were eaten by the ever-ravenous flames, skin peeling directly off the bones and leaving nothing but white bone, and those were going too, melting and disappearing till nothing was left but a flame. He could see all this, but at the same time, he couldn't see anything at all, nothing but stars exploding behind his eyelids as his body convulsed and he curled back up, willing the never-ending agony to even just take a break.

And above, Sloth just grinned.

* * *

_/My heart is on my sleeve/  
_

* * *

He marched into the lab, meaning business. His spawn, he expected, would want to see him soon, but for now, he had someone to see. The screams could be heard even at this end of the vast room, and Greed snorted, not interested in the least to see what Sloth was doing to that newcomer. He hoped she got to use the virus they'd been testing next. Either way, he had business here and he didn't care about her at the moment. 

Pausing in front of one of the vials, he surveyed the brown-haired being inside, folding his arms and simply watching for a moment. "Well, Sebastian... I bet you were surprised, weren't you? Surprised to find that the one woman who loved you most sold you out to vampires to become a test subject?" Sebastian, of course, didn't answer. "You know... I could get you out. I could do it, if I really tried, and then again, 'really trying' isn't really trying at all, is it?" He chuckled softly, seating himself cross-legged on the floor in front of the tube and sighing. "But... what's left for you? I don't know where my sister is. And who's to tell you won't fall back into our hands because of her corrupted heart?" Lips parted, the vampire sighing again and smiling to himself, but it wasn't a happy smile. "Perhaps I'll come back and see you, would you prefer that?" Escad stood, dusting black pants off wearily. "I'll see you, Seb." He moved, slipping back into the cover of shadows.

Above, a green-eyed silhouette disappeared as well.

* * *

_/Wear it like a bruise or blackeye/  
_

* * *

The blonde vampire pushed himself into a sitting position, looking around the room he had confined himself within. Golden eyes shut, then reopened, their flame slightly depleted. Irwin gave a sigh, then snorted and stood, throwing the trademark red coat he liked to wear around his shoulders before striding out of the room. 

Moving swiftly down the halls through what seemed like thirty different points in time, from Victorian to cyberpunk-influenced and anything in between, Irwin made it to the door with a swipe of a card-key. Moving inside to come out on the pavilion directly behind Winry, he opened his mouth. "There you are, Sloth," he remarked tonelessly, and she turned, gaze changing from hate to adoring in a second. Repulsive, he thought with an inner scowl.

"Irwin!" she chirped happily, slapping a hand down on a button on the control panel and removing the helmet-like object from her head. The screams from below immediately stopped. The taller blonde moved to the short one, taking his hands in her own. Irwin jerked his hands back, glaring. Winry paused for a moment, obviously slightly taken aback, but shrugged it off and grinned over at him. "What's up? Did you come to see my new project? Just wanted to talk? You didn't break anything I made, _did you?" _she added viciously, groping behind her, obviously looking for a weapon.

"I didn't," scowled Irwin now, folding his arms and stepping to the control panel overlooking the whole lab. "Whatever. So... what have you been doing? I've been hearing screams for ages, it's really giving me a headache."

She rushed to his side, beaming. "Wait and see, look! It controls emotions. The different shockwaves stimulate different areas of the brain, releasing the appropriate hormones, and then tada! The pain is a little harder to pull off than pleasure, but a while of experimenting and I managed to do it! Course, I have to wear this funny helmet, but I think it's worth it. Besides, look how much pain it causes when I think about it!"

She was obviously proud, observed Irwin. "Quite interesting. And who have you been using it on?"

"Who else?" snorted Winry, jerking a thumb down at it.

The elder of the pair leaned over to peer at the cube. The curled form inside was clearly visible, and Irwin's eyes narrowed. So that was what happened to Roy... no wonder Winry was happy. "You never get tired of experimenting on humans, do you, Winry?" he asked then, not letting the fact slip through that he really didn't want her doing it to _Roy. _"But don't kill that one. I'm not done with him."

She pouted, folding her arms and watching the man as well. "Aw, well... can I alter him a bit, then? He doesn't need all that -- I dunno what to call it. Either way, I want to fuck with him a bit, got a problem?"

Irwin's gaze drifted back to the man, wondering what to do. He watched him for almost thirty seconds before giving a curt "No," and turning to leave, coat trailing behind him.

Winry watched him go, looking back at Roy. The hatred in her eyes had returned, full throttle. "He's a bad liar," she told the cringing figure below. "You're my competition, isn't that right? He cares for you, I know it. But don't worry, soon there'll only be me because Roy Mustang won't be around much longer."

* * *

_/My badge, my witness/  
_

* * *

The second-youngest member of the seven Deadly Sins moved slowly through the vast stronghold, following his nose to the newborns' room. He opened the door, the smell of blood almost overpowering even for a vampire. He wondered, really, where she was, but it wasn't hard to find her, naked in a sea of blood. The small ripples his boots made upon the surface of the liquid reached her, but she didn't seem to have noticed at all, because her gaze was trained on him alone. He crouched beside her, and dimmed blue eyes gazed back at him, the redhead simply watching. "What's your name?" asked Escad curtly, surveying her body with little interest. Beautiful, womens' bodies were usually beautiful, but it was all the same. He supposed she was something special, considering that she was his spawn and she would do his bidding, even though she would command her own private army built solely of the vampires she created. Of course, as his spawn, he would get a share in that little army as well... He lifted a brow, watching her open her mouth slowly to respond. 

"Lucemia," came Rose Mustang's voice, and the blue eyes contained no kindness anymore. Escad was actually sort of glad to see it. "You're my..."

"Sire, yes," he replied impatiently, standing with a hold on her wrist. She stumbled as she was dragged up, so used to sitting in the blood. Crimson liquid slid down her legs in rivulets, and Escad watched them hungrily for a moment before turning away and flinging her arm back at her. "Have Schiezka get you some clothes and possibly a bath. I'll be in the library." He strode through the door, the hem of his cloak and the soles of his boots soaked red.

The green-eyed shadow followed, having waited for him outside the room. She could not go inside, but she could wait till he came out. She wanted a word with that bloodsucker...

She gawked as he turned abruptly, staring directly into the shadows where she stood. "Welcome back, Gwendolyn," said Escad softly.

His sister gave a snort, stepping forward and folding her arms. Brown-haired and green-eyed, she was the spitting image of their late mother, but neither was thinking about that at the moment. "How long have you known?"

"Known that you were there? Since you started following, of course." He regarded her emotionlessly, looking the woman up and down.

"You haven't changed, Alexander," she remarked softly, fingers clenching around the handle of a small pistol. "Since I last saw you, I mean. You're a lot different than when we were children, or even recently, when you were just a bumbling schoolteacher and I was just... You know. And welcoming me back, when I was never part of your little freakshow to begin with?"

"I might not have changed," remarked Escad with a snort, "but you certainly have. I remember when you used to be Schiezka's little assistant, always scurrying after her and dropping books everywhere. Where did my clumsy baby sister go, Gwenny?"

"Don't call me that," hissed Gwendolyn. "And she would have come back, but you got yourself bitten, didn't you? I'm surprised I even managed to get away from you after you turned into such a bastard. Consider yourself lucky I even came to see you. I want to see my husband."

"Your husband?" snorted Greed, leaning against the wall. Blood dripped from the hem of his coat, but he paid no attention to that. "You mean the one you sold out to _Sloth _for her to play with? I doubt he'd want to see you even if he was aware of anything that was going on. Try again in about twenty-five years, maybe Winry'll be done with him by then."

"I'm sure," she scowled, stomping past him. "Either way, I'm going to see him."

"Have fun looking for the lab," sneered the man named Rubens, watching her go and turning away. "It's not like I'll be helping you. Sorry, Gwenny, but you can't see him..."

* * *

_/Means that I believed/  
_

* * *

She was doing as her sire ordered -- Schiezka, of course, was helping, laying out clothes, soaps, towels, anything needed. It was nice to have a bath, even though, as usual for her kind, her reflection was not in the water, but Schiezka was trustworthy and could tell her whether she needed anything else. The redhead slipped out of the bath, dripping, and picked up a towel, wrapping it around herself and sitting on the edge of the large tub to think. So that was it? She didn't feel any different. Then again, she did sort of have this feeling like she didn't quite care about her uncle anymore, but why was that? 

She blinked, thinking about it some more. Rubens, too... attacked her home, kidnapped her, bit her, and she had met him before, and he'd been really nice. But she could see from his point of view now, and why was that? Changing your body couldn't mean you changed your whole outlook on life, could it? Definitely not, so...

Her thoughts were broken off as a folded pile of clothes were slipped beside her, Schiezka straightening and going off to find something to help with. She finished with the towel, slipping the clothes on and looking at them with a critical eye. They were okay, she supposed, to go out in, and go out she did, looking for the man she had been told to find. It wouldn't take long, she hoped... Then again, the base seemed vast, even through seeing only a bit of it. Maybe she'd find him on the way...?

She had all morning to search, at least. Wouldn't take that long... probably.

* * *

_/Every single lie you said (and learned from the best/  
_

* * *


	9. Stricken

Haven't really been in the mood for writing, as you can see, but We put an effort into it, mainly out of boredom and because We kind of missed the flood of emails. So here you are.

It's a bit longer this time.

**Review Replies:**

**Momma Mustang:** -cling- Do you really think so? We tried to make this chapter a bit longer though We doubt it was...

xD;;; Yes, well. It seemed to have that effect on most people...

o-o We almost forgot all about him this time. We'll have to plot something up for him. But instead, you get a bit of filler wiff Riza.

xD -pets- Don't worry about it, We love you. xD;;;;;; We probably won't, We're still at a loss here.

**MARYLOVER: **xD; Too gorgeous, eh? They're only too gorgeous to become ugly chimera, but this seems to be fine for Us. Anything other than ugly deformed animal-people is all right. :3 xD; Sorry We haven't updated much lately. Here's your update, though.

**ehxhfdl14: **Ooh, of course she does. We actually... like this bitchy Winry, she's a very fun villian to use. She's not the main baddie, though, he's still in hiding... Thank you. Here's your update!

**LoveChild Rosie: **xDD;;; Well, she is now. She used to be so cute though! xD; That's true...

**Roy**: xDD;;; We're not out of the woods yet, sorry.

**Resident Quetzal: **Ooh, she's evil. SHe used to be somewhat nicer, but of course, that's not important to them anymore, being nice. She's still Winry, but the more Winry-ish one is locked away. Ed's the only vampire to stay himself.

**GreedxEd: **xDD Not a boyfriend yet, sorry.

**Aubreyvamp: **:3 Thank you for your three reviews!

**Disclaimer: **Don't own it. Theme is Stricken by Disturbed.

* * *

**CHILDREN OF CAIN**

* * *

_stricken

* * *

_

He gave a wiggle, sitting up in the prism he had to have been stuck in for days. He was exhausted mind and body, both because he hadn't slept and because this pain was surprisingly very taxing. Besides, yelling his head off wasn't exactly the most relaxing sport. Moving slowly, the broken Mustang lifted his head and staggered sluggishly to his feet. It was hard to move when your head was pounding hard enough to burst and your limbs felt rather like they were going to collapse, but he did it, pressing both hands with difficulty against the cool glass wall.

Cool… it was cool, just like that vampire's hand. What was his name again…?

He blinked, realizing that he could not remember that boy's name, and the dark-haired man sat to think about it. It seemed to him he couldn't remember any names at all – just faces, and hardly even that sometimes. He knew well two faces, however – one was grinning cheesily, glasses glinting in front of yellow-green eyes, and flicking back an antenna of dark, almost spiky hair from his forehead. The other wasn't so happy, but he seemed kind, with flaming butterscotch-colored eyes, cheeks that looked like he hadn't lost quite _all _of his puppy fat, and long blonde hair that reached his waist even in a braid. He blinked, the nameless faces swimming away briefly, but always returning. The man who couldn't remember his own name knew that he felt comfort in them, but he wasn't quite sure why.

Stars exploded in front of his eyes, and he fell to the side, the colors of the world seeping away to leave a world that wasn't quite grey, but near it, and the smell of antiseptic became strong in his nose. Outside noises… there was sound outside? There definitely was, considering all he could hear was silence and his own screams before, but now… clicks of machines, the shuffling sound of a keyboard. What was going on was definitely beyond him, but he knew perfectly well it couldn't be any good.

And then the world was black once again.

* * *

_/You come on like a bloodstained hurricane/

* * *

_

Greed's hand lifted, his eyes slightly troubled, but he opened the door anyway, pushing away his thoughts for a moment. His lips parted, moving along toward the happily giggling blonde in front of him. "Sloth."

Sloth turned, face lighting up. "Oh! Hi, Greedy! What's up?"

'Greedy's' eye twitched slightly. Where had such a ridiculous nickname come from? Horrible, really, but he said nothing about it. "Why are you so happy all of a sudden, Sloth? What are you up to this time?"

"Oh, just look at the big puppy!" chirped the embodiment of what was supposed to be the sin of Sloth. "Isn't he so cute? I administered that virus I told you about – of course, I didn't get my hands dirty, I had an airborne version… but anyway. Irwin won't be pleased, this one's his, but I'm sure he'll agree that we can't possibly allow that… human to roam free after he's seen so much of us… especially after he's killed a fair few of us. I only think it's right to do this to him."

"You think making a human into a monster is worth it?" echoed Greed, lifting a brow. "I really do not comprehend that, Sloth. By the way… what were you going to do with Sebastian? Did you have any plans?"

"Not yet," she admitted. "But I was thinking of doing what I'm doing now to Sebby, so I dunno what I'll do with him now… Oh! Wanna know how this one works?"

"I expect it's some airborne virus," muttered Greed boredly, "but really, Sloth. You need to do something with that man. Do you know who is here to collect him?"

Sloth's smile dissipated immediately. "…Not… No, you're lying, I won't have it. She can't have him back." The blonde folded her arms defiantly. Sloth had done too much work for that bitch to come and collect him… she wouldn't let it happen. Ever. And she'd kill anybody who tried to take him, too…

* * *

_/Leave me alone, let me be this time/

* * *

_

The phone rang.

No one picked up here, not anymore, and Riza was starting to get worried. After all, Roy always called her after a job to tell her how her guns had performed, but this time… where could he have gone? He wouldn't have gone off on holiday with Rose and Maes -- for starters, he always ended up calling her to get her to watch the house for him. She was definitely even more worried when she phoned his day job and they reported he hadn't been there for a week or so, either…

So finally, she'd got fed up with worrying and pulled on her jacket and scarf. The gunmaker had stowed away a couple of pistols in her coat, holsters strapped to her waist. Despite being only the maker of the things, she was quite proficient with a pistol and would defend herself if she had to. After all… this place gave her a bad feeling.

Ten minutes of annoying traffic jams later, the blonde woman made it to the apartment building. His car was still in his favourite parking space – the one beside Maes', which, she noted, still had the spray paint all over it. She wondered for a moment if they had gotten in trouble for it, but pushed the light thoughts out of her mind. Despite not minding happy thoughts, she knew perfectly well this was not the time for such things and strode into the building.

She ignored the elevator. She didn't trust them anyways, and so she took the stairs, trotting up and breathing easily. It was healthier this way, anyway. She would get older sometime, and so she didn't want to end up fat and with high cholesterol.

Riza reached his floor, peering about. The place seemed normal – no one seemed to have noticed anything, and no one seemed like they knew he was gone. Maybe it was better, but maybe it wasn't. She didn't know… she would have liked to know if the neighbours knew anything. They probably didn't.

The female gunslinger slipped a slender hand into her pocket, fishing out the key Roy had bestowed upon her just for situations like this. She pressed it into the lock, listening for the small click and feeling for the slight resistance of the key before it unlocked the door. At least the doorknob wasn't broken off or anything… she didn't know what to expect, really. As she pushed open the door, Riza's hand moved to her nose, wine-colored eyes narrowing. The scent of blood… how had the neighbours not noticed anything? Then again, the walls were probably all a foot of concrete each, so… she couldn't expect much from them. She pushed down the nausea that was threatening to rise in her throat. Despite her job and the way she seemed to everyone to be unstoppable and quite tough, she didn't like the scent of blood – Roy was always covered in it, and it spooked her a little. Despite this, the woman pushed open the door, one hand in her pocket, finger curled tight around the trigger of a pistol not unlike the one she had given Roy not so long ago.

Blood.

The whole room was red, as if some large child had come in with a paintbrush and flung it at the walls over and over again until the splatters touched and made a solid blackish-red. It was as if some giant had slit his wrists and let it pour down the sides of the walls.

Her hand rose, tugging her scarf up over her nose. Both hands met at the handle of the pistol, making sure she had perfect aim. Riza's eyes scanned the room, looking for some indication of someone still being here, but saw no one and heard nothing. Was it a vampire who had finally gotten fed up of her star client taking out most of his species, or was it a rival hunter, desperate for a bit of fame? Either way, both Mustangs were gone. There was no note by the phone, nothing to show Roy had willingly gone. Perhaps he'd been ambushed outside on the street, but Rose would have gone looking for him. She couldn't make the numbers add up except for one instance – kidnapping of both of them, but what would they want with Rose?

She couldn't figure it out. Refraining from sitting on the blood-spattered couch or the splashed armchair, she sat in the kitchen, twirling a pen between her fingers and trying to make the pieces fit. She'd have to leave him a message by his phone, just in case he turned up again, like he always seemed to. Maybe he'd come back this evening and find she'd been worrying about him?

The young woman stood, scrawling a note on the pad of sticky notes by the phone.

ROY - CALL WHEN YOU GET HOME

– RIZA,

said the note, loud and clear. She hoped he'd understand it – she found sometimes Roy could be odd. She bet he was out hammered on the streets somewhere… something typical of him had to be going on, and some vampires had just decided to come in here and slit their wrists all over his furniture, that was all. It seemed likely to her, because she knew not to dismiss any odd ideas. Anything could happen around Roy Mustang, after all.

She would just… have to wait to find out what it was, that was all.

* * *

_/You carry on like a holy man pushing redemption/

* * *

_

Irwin's gaze narrowed. He was pacing around at the bottom half of the lab, cloaked in shadow. He didn't care whether Winry saw him – he was here to see Roy, and she could suck a dick.

The blonde's steps halted. It wasn't Roy he was looking at, but… Sebastian. His arms wrapped around himself as he looked the brownhaired man over. "Not doing so good, eh…? I heard Greed came to see you. Miss your wife, huh? Haven't seen her for a while." A laugh from up above, and Pride rolled his eyes. Winry… what was she doing? Sounded like she was having fun, and it was probably with Roy. Dammit… it was all really his fault, wasn't it? He opened his mouth to speak to the comatose man once again, but he paused as his vision was drawn sideways. Out of his peripherals he'd seen the jerk of a body, and now he blanched. That cube… prism… prison. Whatever Sloth was calling it these days, was that… it couldn't possibly be, could it?

His feet moved without him, trotting swiftly and silently to the side, where he pressed cool granite hands to the indestructible crystal cell. Here… this was what he'd left Roy to become. He understood now, and without even a blink, moved from the floor to the top of the cell. He leapt, landing directly in front of Sloth, who looked almost surprised to see him, but he supposed pushed it back down. She removed her helmet as he spoke. "Dammit, Sloth!"

"What, 'Win?" asked the blonde woman curiously, words laced with innocence but also malice as she shook out her hair. "What's the matter?"

"_That _is the matter, Winry," barked Edward. "What the fuck did you do to him?"

"You don't like my wolfy? I thought he was cute. Much better than that smug old man. I'm surprised you liked him, Irwin, he was really horrible for you."

"I liked him better than you," muttered Irwin. "Let him go, at least, Sloth. You've done everything possible to him, I expect, there's no point in keeping him now."

"Let him _go_?" echoed Sloth, tone dripping disbelief. "After all I've discovered? You must be kidding."

"No, I'm not," he muttered, arms folding. "Do it, or I will. And you know they all like me a bit better than you, right? Mine won't stand for it if you kill him. He's mine, after all," he added possessively. "Greed thought it would be a good plan for you to poke around at him for a little while, but I discovered him and I'll do what I want with him. It isn't for you to decide."

"Yeah, cause you'll so kill him," replied Sloth with a roll of her blue eyes. "More like make out with him, I bet, isn't that how you are? You so like him."

"Far from it," snapped Irwin immediately. "What gives you that idea? Actually, I'll kill him myself, happy? Give him to me. I'll take care of it."

Winry blinked, watching the blonde teen carefully for a moment before depositing the visored helmet into his palms. "Go ahead, then, as long as you come back with his head, got it? I won't stand for anything less, and I won't believe you've killed him until you do."

"You sound like a witch from a fairy tale," he muttered dispassionately, holding the helmet by the back wire in his hand. "Enjoying that role, I expect?"

"No," snapped Winry. "I'm a princess."

"A pretty twisted one, if I do say so myself…" He sniggered as she stormed out of the room. Obviously she hadn't expected him to make fun of her so much, but it was worth it, definitely. He hadn't had this much fun in… well, a few days, he supposed. Roy had been lots of fun, with his odd, eccentric human ways.

He leaned over the balcony, computerized helmet in his loose grasp. What would he do now…? The twitching animal below was not Roy any longer, he didn't think… now he was simply a beast, wasn't he? But there was a way to get into that prism, Winry had done it countless times, so… if he did that, then he would be fine to enter it and lead out the lupine creature below. He didn't care if the man was a werewolf or anything like that – nobody really cared anyway, did they? He didn't. Kimbley had been around long enough for them all to get used to the stench, but as far as he could tell, the smell was gone, or at least fainter – which basically meant Kimbley was dead, for him, anyway. Besides, he had been told the wolf had gone off to deal with that human that had intruded, which meant he'd gotten Maes Hughes killed in the deal as well. Damn... he was really losing his touch. All he was doing at the moment was carving a bloody crest into New York, and he didn't enjoy it much.

Edward sighed, slipping over the rail and waiting for his feet to hit the ground. When they did, the vampire strode to the door of the wolf-like animal's prison, feeling along the crystal confines of the prism to find the hinges which would allow him to open it. He could see the wolf's – he couldn't think of him as Roy, Roy wasn't an animal – ears flicker up as he managed to find the way in, and its head lift as he knelt in front of it. "Hey… are you… all right?" He felt his chest clench, blinking at the odd sensation. He hadn't felt something like this… for a long time.

_mama_

_feet__ pattering on the concrete walk_

_mama__, look what __i__ made_

And then she was gone, and he'd done nothing to save her.

That feeling was the same as now.

Why hadn't he saved him?

Why was he… useless to anyone who had to depend on him?

That was always an unanswerable question…

He was so… cliché. Just like a movie… pathetically dramatic, clinging to the lines that sounded good on screen. "_As single frames from one magical night forever flicker in closeup on the 3-D imax of my mind_," he quoted with a snort. Just like Mark… pathetic.

* * *

_/I don't want to mention the reason I know/

* * *

_


End file.
